Give the variety of comedies which prospered during 18 century
Answers
Answer:
The 18th century saw the flourishing of theatre as a popular pastime and many theatres were enlarged and new playhouses built in London and the provinces.
Explanation:
One of the most successful shows on the London stage in the early part of the 18th century was the ballad opera The Beggar's Opera. John Gay recycled popular songs of the day and wrote new lyrics that were humorous and satirical. Despite the attempt to suppress it via the 1737 Licensing Act, satire remained popular, such as those staged by Samuel Foote at the Haymarket Theatre.
This engraving shows a performance of The Beggar's Opera from about 1729. This comic opera was first produced at Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre by the father of pantomime John Rich in 1728.
It was a huge success and was regularly revived throughout the century making (as was noted at the time) 'Rich gay and Gay rich'.
John Gay, born in 1688, is most famous for his ballad opera The Beggar's Opera, first produced in 1728.
Shakespeare's plays became increasingly popular during the 18th century but were reworked to suit the tastes of the day. His style was still felt to be too erratic and poets such as Alexander Pope carefully tidied up any uneven verse lines. Shakespeare's ending to King Lear was felt to be too distressing and Nahum Tate's revised version (where Cordelia and the King survive) was preferred to the original.
David Garrick rewrote the end of Romeo and Juliet so that the lovers speak to each other before dying in the tomb and turned the Taming of the Shrew into a farce. However, Garrick was also responsible for restoring much of Shakespeare's original text to other plays.
The 18th century saw the development of Shakespeare as a national symbol.