The Reemergence of Satirical Drama, and The Licensing Act
Toward the end of the 1720s, the behavior of opera stars, the absurdity of spectacle productions, and an escalation of political warfare between the two parties led to a reclamation of the stage by political dramatists. During the later years of King George I, who favored Robert Walpole, there was a scramble for the favor of the future King George II, his wife, and his mistress, and this combined with a shattering of public confidence in the government after the South Sea Bubble and revelations of corruption in the trial of Jonathan Wild, Charles Hitchen, the Earl of Macclesfield, and others.
Read more about this topic: Augustan Drama
Famous quotes containing the words satirical and/or act:
“The satirical rogue says here that old men have grey beards,
that their faces are wrinkled, their eyes purging thick amber
and plum-tree gum, and that they have a plentiful lack of wit,
together with most weak hams.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“By act of Congress, male officers are gentlemen, but by act of God, we are ladies. We don’t have to be little mini-men and try to be masculine and use obscene language to come across. I can take you and flip you on the floor and put your arms behind your back and you’ll never move again, without your ever knowing that I can do it.”
—Sherian Grace Cadoria (b. 1940)