Sir George Etherege (1635?, Maidenhead, Berkshire–c. Maidenhead is a town within the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, in Berkshire, England. Berkshire (ˈbɑːkʃə or /ˈbɑːkʃɪə/ say Baak-shuh/-sheer sometimes abbreviated to Berks) is a Home County in the South May 10, 1692, Paris [1]) was an English dramatist. Events 1291 - Scottish Nobles recognize the authority of Edward I of England. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or Drama. He wrote the plays The Comical Revenge or, Love in a Tub in 1664, She Would if She Could in 1668, and The Man of Mode or, Sir Fopling Flutter in 1676. The Man of Mode is a Restoration comedy by George Etherege, written in 1676 and first performed March 2 of the same year
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Early life
George Etherege was born in Maidenhead, Berkshire, around 1635, to George Etherege and Mary Powney, as the eldest of six children. [1] Educated at Lord Williams's School, he was also rumored to have been educated at Cambridge as well; [2] however, John Dennis assures that to his certain knowledge he understood neither Greek nor Latin, thus rising doubts that he could hardly have been there. Lord Williams's School is a co-educational secondary school in Thame, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom. John Dennis may refer to John Dennis (dramatist (1657-1734 English dramatist John Stoughton Dennis, Canadian surveyor Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. [3] He served as apprentice to a lawyer and later studied law at Clement's Inn, London, one of the Inns of Chancery. The Inns of Chancery were buildings which housed associations of lawyers in London from the late Middle Ages to the 19th century [2] He probably travelled abroad to France with his father who stayed with the exiled queen Henrietta Maria. It is possible that he witnessed in Paris the performances of some of Molière's earliest comedies; and he is thought, from an allusion in one of his plays, to have been personally acquainted with Roger de Rabutin, Comte de Bussy. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, also known by his Stage name, Molière, ( January 15, 1622 – February 17 1673) was a French Roger de Rabutin Comte de Bussy ( April 13, 1618 - April 9, 1693) commonly known as Bussy-Rabutin, was a French memoir-writer
Success on the stage
Soon after the Restoration in 1660 he composed his comedy of The Comical Revenge or Love in a Tub, which introduced him to Lord Buckhurst, afterwards the earl of Dorset. The English Restoration, or simply The Restoration began in 1660 when the English monarchy, Scottish monarchy and Irish monarchy were restored Charles Sackville 6th Earl of Dorset and 1st Earl of Middlesex ( 24 January 1638 &ndash 29 January 1706) was an English poet and courtier son Dorset ( (or archaically, Dorsetshire) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast This was performed at the Duke's theatre in 1664, and a few copies were printed in the same year. It is partly in rhymed heroic verse, like the stilted tragedies of the Howards and Killigrew, but it contains comic scenes that are exceedingly bright and fresh. The sparring between Sir Frederick and the Widow introduced a style of wit hitherto unknown upon the English stage.
The success of this play was very great, but Etherege waited four years before he repeated his experiment. Meanwhile he gained the highest reputation as a poetical beau, and moved in the circle of Sir Charles Sedley, Lord Rochester and the other noble wits of the day. Sir Charles Sedley 5th Baronet (March 1639 &ndash August 20 1701) was an English wit Dramatist and politician For other people of this name see John Rochester. John Wilmot 2nd Earl of Rochester ( April 1, 1647 &ndash July 26 His temperament is best known by the names his contemporaries gave him, of "gentle George" and "easy Etheredge. " In 1668 he brought out She would if she could, a comedy full of action, wit and spirit, although by some thought to be frivolous and immoral. But in this play Etherege first shows himself a new power in literature. We move in an airy and fantastic world, where flirtation is the only serious business of life. At this time Etherege was living a life no less frivolous and unprincipled than those of his Courtals and Freemans.
The Man of Mode
Between 1668 and 1671 Etherege went to Constantinople as secretary of the English ambassador Sir Daniel Harvey. Constantinople (Κωνσταντινούπολις Konstantinoúpolis, or gr ἡ Πόλις hē Polis, Latin: la CONSTANTINOPOLIS Sir Daniel Harvey (1631-1672 was a merchant and English Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1668-1672 After a silence of eight years, he came forward with one more play, unfortunately his last. The Man of Mode or, Sir Fopling Flutter, indisputably the best comedy of manners written in England before the days of Congreve, was acted and printed in 1676, and enjoyed an unbounded success. The Man of Mode is a Restoration comedy by George Etherege, written in 1676 and first performed March 2 of the same year William Congreve ( 24 January 1670 &ndash 19 January 1729) was an English Playwright and Poet. Besides the merit of its plot and wit, it had the personal charm of being supposed to satirize, or at least to paint, persons well known in London. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Sir Fopling Flutter was a portrait of Beau Hewit, the reigning exquisite of the hour; in Dorimant the poet drew the Earl of Rochester, and in Medley a portrait of himself (or, equally plausible, of his fellow playwright and wit Sir Charles Sedley); while even the drunken shoemaker was a real character, who made his fortune from being thus brought into public notice.
Etherege was a friend of John Wilmot; each had a daughter by the unmarried actress Elizabeth Barry. For other people of this name see John Rochester. John Wilmot 2nd Earl of Rochester ( April 1, 1647 &ndash July 26 Elizabeth Barry (1658 – November 7, 1713) was an English actress of the Restoration period [4] All three are characters in the 2005 film The Libertine based on a play by Stephen Jeffreys. The Libertine is a movie that was widely released in the United Kingdom on 25 November 2005, and on 10 March 2006
After this brilliant success Etheredge retired from literature; his gallantries and his gambling in a few years deprived him of his fortune, and he looked about for a rich match. He was knighted before 1680, and gained the hand and the money of a rich widow. In March 1685 he was appointed resident minister in the imperial German court at Regensburg. Regensburg ( also Ratisbon, Ratisbona Řezno originally Castra Regina) is a City (population 131000 in 2007 in Bavaria, Germany After three and a half-year's residence and after the Glorious Revolution, he left for Paris to join James II in exile. The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, was the overthrow of King James II of England (VII of Scotland in 1688 by a union James II of England and Ireland James VII of Scotland (14 October 1633 &ndash 16 September 1701 was King of England, King of Scots, Later that same year James His manuscript despatches are preserved in the British Museum, where they were discovered and described by Gosse in 1881; they are available in editions by Sybil Rosenfeld (1928) and Frederic Bracher (1974). The British Museum is a Museum of human history and culture in London. He died in Paris, probably in 1691, for Narcissus Luttrell notes in February 1692 that Sir George Etherege, the late King James' ambassador to Vienna, had died recently in Paris. Narcissus Luttrell (1657–1732 was an English historian, diarist, and bibliographer, and briefly Member of Parliament for two different Vienna ( in Wien; see also other names) is the Capital of Austria, and is also one of the nine States of Austria.
Reputation
Etherege holds a distinguished place in English literature as one of the "big five" of Restoration comedy. Restoration comedy is the name given to English comedies written and performed in the Restoration period from 1660 to 1710 He inaugurated a period of genuine wit and sprightliness. He invented the comedy of manners, and led the way for the masterpieces of Congreve and Sheridan. Richard Brinsley Sheridan (30 October 1751 &ndash 7 July 1816 was an Irish playwright and Whig Statesman.
Etherege's portraits of fops and beaux are considered the best of their kind. His wit is sparkling and frivolous, his style picturesque. Etherege is noted for his delicate touches of dress, furniture and scene; he vividly draws the fine airs of London gentlemen and ladies, perhaps better than Congreve; but he has less insight and less energy than Congreve. His biography was first written in detail by Edmund Gosse in Seventeenth Century Studies (1883). Edmund William Gosse ( September 21, 1849 &ndash May 16, 1928) was an English Poet, author and critic the son of Philip
References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone The article is available here: [2]
- ^ Brett-Smith, H. F. B. The Dramatic Works of Sir George Etherege. Introduction. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1927. xi-lxxxiiii.
- ^ a b Oldys, W. Biographia Britannica. Vol. III, 1750. p. 1841.
- ^ Dennis, John. A Defence Of Sir Fopling Flutter, A Comedy. Pamphlet, London, 2 November, 1722.
- ^ Cambridge Guide to Literature in English
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