John Gay, The Mohocks

Pat Rogers (University of South Florida)

Ed. by Nicholas Seager, University of Keele
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.05: English Writing and Culture from the Glorious Revolution to the French Revolution, 1689-1789.
Vol. editors: Paul Baines (University of Liverpool), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Pat Rogers (University of South Florida), Nicholas Seager (University of Keele)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1712

Places

England (Country of Origin; Publication/ performance)

Genres and Modes

Farce
Play

Resources

Save to Bookshelf

Recommended Reading

The Mohocks

(1712) is John Gay’s first work for the stage. It holds particular interest in that it resembles his most famous play,

The Beggar’s Opera

(1728), more closely than any other of his dramatic productions previous to that date. The full title reads

The Mohocks; A Tragi-Comical Farce. As it was acted near the Watch-house in Covent-Garden. By Her Majesty’s Servants.

In fact, it never reached the stage. Though Gay already had connections with the Drury Lane theatre company through his friend Aaron Hill, the managers were unwilling to put on a potentially controversial play by an unknown author. The subtitle refers to the action of the piece in and around Covent Garden, a centre of theatrical life as well as crime and public disorder, situated in what later became known as the…

Please log in to consult the article in its entirety. If you are a member (student of staff) of a subscribing institution (see List), you should be able to access the LE on campus directly (without the need to log in), and off-campus either via the institutional log in we offer, or via your institution's remote access facilities, or by creating a personal user account with your institutional email address. If you are not a member of a subscribing institution, you will need to purchase a personal subscription. For more information on how to subscribe as an individual user, please see under Individual Subcriptions.

1876 words

Citation: Rogers, Pat. "The Mohocks". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 October 2020 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=39347, accessed 18 April 2024.]

View recommended reading for this article

Save this article