The Idler and the Dandy in Stage Comedy, 500 B.c.-1830: A History of a Dramatic Character Type - Hardcover

Ritchie, Chris

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 077345439X ISBN 13: 9780773454392

Publisher: Edwin Mellen Pr, 2007

Synopsis

Starting in Ancient Greece, Ritchie (comedy writing and performance, Southampton Solent U., England) traces a key thread in the development of comic performance: the chiseller figure, the loafer who makes a living offering jokes, compliments or advice in exchange for food, drink or financial assistance from anyone willing to provide it. Combining general commentary with summaries of plays, Ritchie follows this figure through its many forms: the parasites, flatterers and soldiers satellites of Greek Old and New Comedy; their counterparts in Roman comedy; the minstrels of the medieval period; Il Dottore and Scaramouche in Commedia dell'Arte; Shakespeare's and Jonson's fools; and the fops in comic plays from the Restoration to the early 19th century. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

About this title

About the Author

Dr. Chris Ritchie is the course leader of the Comedy: Writing & Performance degree program at Southampton Solent University.

Review

"This lively and engaging study manages to be both scholarly and genuinely entertaining as it follows the development of the 'chiseller' character from his Graeco-Roman progenitors through all eras of theatre history, concluding with the sentimental comedies of the early 19th century. It represents a formidable undertaking, but Dr. Ritchie's effortlessly encyclopaedic understanding of both this particular comic type and the historical development of stage comedy more generally is demonstrated throughout." - Dr. Margaret Coldiron, Durham University"

About this edition

• Publisher: Edwin Mellen Pr
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 077345439X
• ISBN 13: 9780773454392
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 183