Lesson 1 (from Act 1, Scene 1)
Act 1, Scene 1
The students will take notes on Goldsmith and 18th-century theater in England as the teacher gives them background information.
The students will hear a comparison between Goldsmith's play with the sentimental comedies and Restoration comedies of the times.
The teacher presents background information about the life of Goldsmith, his association with some of the great writers of his day, the different genres he worked in, and the production of his plays. Between the strictly upper class sentimental comedies with Victorian avoidance of improprieties and the boisterous Restoration plays that shocked ladies because of its vulgarity, SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER was able to reach a compromise that allowed for sexual innuendo across class levels. The teacher will quote the line from Dryden from which Goldsmith likely took his title: But kneels to conquer, and but stoops to rise.
Read Act 1 of the play...
This section contains 6,027 words
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