The Recruiting Officer - Couverture souple

Farquhar, George

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0803253575 ISBN 13 : 9780803253575

Editeur : University of Nebraska Press, 1992

Synopsis

Since its first appearance in 1706, The Recruiting Officer has remained a scathing satire of military recruitment. George Farquhar knew the subject well, since he had been involved himself in the tricks and intimidation that enlisted recruits for Queen Anne's army in the War of Spanish Succession from 1703-1705.

In Farquhar's play, two recruiting officers compete for recruits in the same locale. Recruiting in those years required more than patriotism and the lure of glory: it relied on bribery, alcohol, and the whole armory of deceit. Farquhar's play makes connections explicit, further setting off their dramatic power by linking recruiting tactics to the rites of courtship. His satire is intensified by his much-admired portrayals of the characters and situations of rural life; Farquhar brought the men and women of field and village truly to the stage.

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

Number twenty one in NHB's Drama Classics Series, providing the world's great drama at a great price.

The introduction to this edition of The Recruiting Officer includes a short biography of George Farquhar and chronology of his work; a guide to what happens in the play; a short history of the play and its context; and a brief guide to characterisation, language and themes.

In the town of Shrewsbury Captain Plume and captain Brazen are on a recruiting drive. Planning to cheat and flatter the citizens into signing up for the wars, they find that, on being reaquainted with the lovely Sylvia and her cousin Melinda, they have their own battles of a different kind...

The Recruiting Officer was the first play to be staged in the Colony of New South Wales, by the convicts of the First Fleet in 1789. A performance immortalised in Timberlake Wertenbaker's play Our Country's Good.

Présentation de l'éditeur

If the two last acts of this drama were equal to the three first, it would rank the foremost among Farquhar's works; for these are brilliant in wit, humour, character, incident, and every other requisite necessary to form a complete comedy. But the decrease of merit in a play, on approaching its conclusion, is, as in all other productions, of most unfortunate consequence.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: University of Nebraska Press
• Date d'édition: 1992
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0803253575
• ISBN 13: 9780803253575
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 138
• Éditeur: Shugrue Michael
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible