Place Realism
The play has been noted for the element of naturalism in its setting. Hyde Park exploits the atmosphere of the real contemporaneous Hyde Park, with horse races and footraces. Games and gambling are the constant themes and motifs of the play; the characters envision and describe their relationships in terms of competition and gamesmanship. The Park's nightingales accentuate the romantic plots. Upon publication Shirley dedicated the play to Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland, who was the Keeper of the Crown Land of Hyde Park, as well as a member of the Privy Council and a Knight of the Garter.
Dramas utilizing "place realism" came into fashion in the early 1630s, partially in response to the 1631 publication of Ben Jonson's Bartholomew Fair. Shackerley Marmion's Holland's Leaguer (1631), Thomas Nabbes's Covent Garden (1633) and Tottenham Court (1634), and several of the plays of Richard Brome all participate in this theatrical fashion.
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Famous quotes containing the words place and/or realism:
“Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where
is the place thereof,”
—Bible: Hebrew Job (l. XXXVIII, 19)
“Art is beauty, and every exposition of art, whether it be music, painting, or the drama, should be subservient to that one great end. As long as nature is a means to the attainment of beauty, so-called realism is necessary and permissable [sic], but it must be realism enhanced by idealism and uplifted by the spirit of an inner life or purpose.”
—Julia Marlowe (1866–1950)