A Pleasant Institution

Comedy in the Works of W.S. Gilbert

Richard Moore

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English

Dr. Richard Moore
01 July 2022

Opera; Literature: history & criticism

This book - one of four written by the author about the development of Western comedy and Victorian music theatre - is a wide-ranging and authoritative examination of the key comic works of the famous dramatist W.S. Gilbert. Remembered today primarily for his partnership with Sir Arthur Sullivan and the creation of the brilliant and enduringly popular 'Savoy' operas, Gilbert was in fact a prolific author of literary works of all genres: plays, libretti, short stories, poetry (including nonsense verse) and ballads. Indeed, his short stories and stand-alone comedy lyrics are often more anarchically sharp than most of the libretti derived from, or linked with, them.

The book begins with a general survey of background, methodology and techniques, followed by detailed analysis of some of the works according to category: his 'non-Sullivan' plays; five of the Savoy Operas (H.M.S. Pinafore, Patience, Iolanthe, Princess Ida and The Grand Duke); nonsense verse; short stories; and finally the Bab Ballads.

The author's aim is to explore what, in comedy terms, is meant by the category 'Gilbertian', placing Gilbert's unique contribution to the history and development of comedic art.

By: Richard Moore
Imprint: Dr. Richard Moore
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 24mm
Weight: 658g
ISBN: 9781916495890
ISBN 10: 1916495893
Pages: 474
Publication Date: 01 July 2022
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Richard Moore is a graduate of Cambridge University with a Ph.D. in Victorian Literature. Recently he retired from university lecturing while continuing with his first love of creative and critical writing.Richard has written nearly a hundred straight plays and even more scripts for music-drama. He has had two previous books published - both about theatre comedy. His hope is that the present one may generate a kind of mini-series, centred on Gilbert but also covering Western comedy theatre generally. Richard's most recent works combine the up-to-date with the nostalgically reminiscent. One is a farce for music, The 'Covideon', offering a comedy treatment of a pandemic set in Ancient Greece where the affliction is the result of a curse from an offended Trump-like Dionysus. Another is a satirical piece called 'Vasputin'. A third takes the play 'Seven Keys to Baldpate' and turns it into a cross between Gilbert and Sullivan and Offenbach. Richard's other interests are music (especially Italian opera, choral music and ragtime), ecology and nature conservation.As for ambitions, he is currently seeking a composer for a libretto based on Gilbert's 'Foggerty's Fairy'. Gilbert, it seems, always hovers on the margins of his life, though there are plenty of other writers sharing his wide-ranging allegiances.