The Druriad: or, Strictures on the principal performers of Drury-Lane Theatre: a satirical poem: with notes critical and explanatory: Poetry Guide and Free Edition
The Druriad: or, Strictures on the principal performers of Drury-Lane Theatre: a satirical poem: with notes critical and explanatory: author and translator credits, catalogue synopsis, subjects and links to the Gutenberg reading formats.
The Druriad: or, Strictures on the principal performers of Drury-Lane Theatre: a satirical poem: with notes critical and explanatory is catalogued by Project Gutenberg with author credits for Anonymous.
Catalogue synopsis
Project Gutenberg supplies this automated synopsis of the opening text:
The Druriad by Anonymous is a satirical poem with critical and explanatory notes, written in the late 18th century. It is a work of theatrical criticism centered on the performers of Drury-Lane Theatre. The likely topic is a spirited survey that celebrates outstanding actors while satirizing weak ones, lamenting declining taste, and urging higher standards on the English stage. An opening advertisement claims the theatre shapes public morals and warns that laxity has dimmed acting, setting a mission to praise merit and ridicule mediocrity. The poem, cast as a dialogue between an Author and a Friend, shifts from a playful debate about poetic fashions to a pointed tour of Drury’s company. It exalts Mrs Siddons for tragic mastery, Kemble for commanding Shakespearean roles, Miss Decamp for versatile brilliance, Mrs Pope and Mr King for comic truth, and Charles Kemble as a rising hope, while censuring others for bombast, miscasting, or coarse buffoonery, and rebuking managers for poor distribution of parts. Brief portraits touch many figures—Jordan, Powell, Palmer, Bannister, Suett, Barrymore, Goodall, Wathen, Kelly, and more—balancing flashes of praise with sharper rebuke. The extensive notes amplify the judgments, attack fashionable playwrights and pantomimes, defend serious drama, and call for renewed reverence for Shakespeare. The work closes with a plea for a poet to rekindle Shakespeare’s spirit and restore dignity and taste to the stage.
Book and edition facts
- Title: The Druriad: or, Strictures on the principal performers of Drury-Lane Theatre: a satirical poem: with notes critical and explanatory
- Author credits: Anonymous
- Catalogue language: English
Catalogue subjects
- Theatre Royal, Drury Lane (London, England) -- Poetry
- Verse satire, English -- Early works to 1800
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Source notes
Catalogue metadata is public domain and is supplied through Gutendex, which imports Gutenberg's machine-readable catalogue. The automated synopsis is source-supplied, not an independently verified review. Author dates above describe the credited people; no ebook release date is presented as the book's original publication date.
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