Themes
The Welsh Opera was a tribute to the Scriblerians, especially to John Gay and to his most famous work The Beggar's Opera. This served as a means to put forth a general political view and deal with politics in a more critical way unlike any of Fielding's previous plays. The play is a political allegory that satirises Robert Walpole's government and the British monarchy. Fielding also used Gay's technique of swapping London for a pastoral environment. Within the play, a country household represents England and the people represent various leaders and political figures. Fielding also adds many praises of the pastoral life along with favourably portraying roast beef and tobacco while mocking anything foreign.
The play was attacked for its political implications, which later resulted in a ban on the play and its sequel from being performed. However, Fielding does not favour any political party; instead, he attacks both parties while recognising their importance to the nation as a whole. His attacks are personal, especially in alluding to rumours that the Prince of Wales was impotent. The play did run with The Fall of Mortimer, which made fun of Walpole. The revisions to the play form The Grub-Street Opera.
Read more about this topic: The Welsh Opera
Famous quotes containing the word themes:
“In economics, we borrowed from the Bourbons; in foreign policy, we drew on themes fashioned by the nomad warriors of the Eurasian steppes. In spiritual matters, we emulated the braying intolerance of our archenemies, the Shi’ite fundamentalists.”
—Barbara Ehrenreich (b. 1941)
“I suppose you think that persons who are as old as your father and myself are always thinking about very grave things, but I know that we are meditating the same old themes that we did when we were ten years old, only we go more gravely about it.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)