The Siege of Londonderry, 1705
A five-act tragicomedy on the battle of Londonderry/Derry in 1689. It was the first major event in the Williamite War in Ireland. The siege was preceded by a first attempt against the town by Jacobite forces on December 7, 1688 that was foiled when 13 apprentices shut the gates. This was an act of rebellion against James II. The second attempt began on April 18, 1689 when James himself appeared before the walls with an Irish army led by Jacobite and French officers. The town was summoned to surrender but refused. The besiegers tried to storm the walls, but all attacks failed. They then resorted to starving Derry out. They raised the siege and left when ships bringing food broke through to the town. The siege lasted 105 days from April 18, 1689 to August 1, 1689. It is commemorated yearly by the Protestant community. |
Gulliver's Travel's, 1726
Also known as Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts was published in 1726 by clergyman Jonathan Swift .It is a full length work that reflects upon both human nature and the "travellers' tales" literary sub-genre. Gulliver's Travels is an adventure story (in reality, a misadventure story) involving several voyages of Lemuel Gulliver, a ship's surgeon, who, because of a series of mishaps en route to recognized ports, ends up, instead, on several unknown islands living with people and animals of unusual sizes, behaviors, and philosophies, but who, after each adventure, is somehow able to return to his home in England where he recovers from these unusual experiences and then sets out again on a new voyage. Gulliver's Travels has been described as a Menippean satire, a children's story, proto-science fiction and a forerunner of the modern novel. Published seven years after Daniel Defoe's successful Robinson Crusoe, Gulliver's Travels may be read as a systematic rebuttal of Defoe's optimistic account of human capability. Some scholars have asserted that Swift was concerned with refuting the notion that the individual precedes society and question the costs of a society that embraces and celebrates policies pursuing scientific progress.. Swift regarded such thought as a dangerous endorsement of Thomas Hobbes' radical political philosophy. |
A Modest Proposal, 1729
A Juvenalian satirical essay written and published anonymously by Jonathan Swift in 1729. Swift's essay is widely held to be one of the greatest examples of sustained irony in the history of the English language. Much of its shock value derives from the fact that the first portion of the essay describes the plight of starving beggars in Ireland, so that the reader is unprepared for the surprise of Swift's solution when he states: "A young healthy child well nursed, is, at a year old, a most delicious nourishing and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee, or a ragout." Swift goes to great lengths to support his argument, including a list of possible preparation styles for the children, and calculations showing the financial benefits of his suggestion. He uses methods of argument throughout his essay which lampoon the then-influential William Petty and the social engineering popular among followers of Francis Bacon. A Modest Proposal is included in many literature courses as an example of early modern western satire. It also serves as an introduction to the concept and use of argumentative language, lending itself to secondary and post-secondary essay courses. Outside of the realm of English studies, A Modest Proposal is included in many comparative and global literature and history courses, as well as those of numerous other disciplines in the arts, humanities, and even the social sciences |
A Will and No Will or a Bone for the Lawyers, 1746
This is an afterpiece — a short play to follow a main production — was first produced in 1746. It was based on Regnard's five-act comedy le Legetaire Universel (1707), which is itself a composite of Italian comedy with echoes of Molière, moving from scene to scene with little effort at logical consistency or structure but treating each scene autonomously for its own comic value. The rather long Prologue to A Will and No Will or a Bone for the Lawyers (11 pages of manuscript) makes fun of the convention of the eighteenth century prologues by the familiar dodge of having actors chatting as though they were in the Pit waiting for the actors in the preceding main play to dress for the afterpiece. — Summary from Introduction. |
Life and Opinions of Tristan Shandy, Gentleman, c. 1759-1767
Laurence Sterne's Tristram Shandy is narrated by the title character in a series of digressions and interruptions that purportedly show the "life and opinions" — part of the novel's full title — of Tristram. Composed of nine "Books" originally published between 1759-1767, the novel has more to do with Shandy family members and their foibles and history than it seemingly does with Tristram himself. However, it is through Tristram's relating the actions, beliefs, and opinions of his family members — primarily his father, Walter Shandy, and his paternal Uncle Toby — that the reader gets a clearer picture of Tristram's character. Books 1-6 revolve around Tristram's conception (the novel begins the evening of his conception); his birth (with a smashed nose that supposedly bodes ill warnings for his future); his mistaken naming (according to his father prior to Tristram's birth, "Tristram" is the worst possible name for a child); and his circumcision (while urinating out a window, the window falls). However, these events actually take up very little of these first six books' action. Instead, the narration is continuously interrupted by stories, diatribes, and opinions concerning family history, Walter Shandy's hypotheses and theories, and Uncle Toby's penchant for military fortifications to the point that readers today might easily become frustrated with Tristram's inability to get to the point (which, ironically, is the point — Tristram is relating his "life and opinions," and they come to him in a disjointed fashion). Book 7 concerns an older Tristram traveling in France for health reasons. The book seems isolated from the story that precedes and follows it. Books 8 and 9 revolve around Uncle Toby's affair with the Widow Wadman, who is concerned about Uncle Toby's supposed groin injury and seeks to find out just how injured his groin is. Again, as in earlier books in the novel, numerous digressions and interruptions are spread throughout these two books, and Tristram through his mother, Mrs. Shandy, finally asks, "What is all this story about?" |
She Stoops to Conquer, 1773
A story by Oliver Goldsmith about a mischievous brother who feels constantly picked on by his family who decides to get back at his family. A comedic set of circumstances that finds everyone embroiled in a misunderstanding of gargantuan proportions. When the play was first produced, it was discussed as an example of the revival of laughing comedy over the sentimental comedy seen as dominant on the English stage since the success of The Conscious Lovers, written by Sir Richard Steele in 1722. Some theater historians believe the essay was written by Goldsmith as a puff piece for She Stoops to Conquer as an exemplar of the "laughing comedy". The play might also be seen as a comedy of manners in which the comedy arises from the gap between the standards of behavior the characters regard as proper in polite society, and the more informal behaviors they are prepared to indulge or deploy in settings they deem less constrained by such standards. |
The Rivals, 1775
The Rivals, comedy in five acts by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, produced and published in 1775. It concerns the romantic difficulties of Lydia Languish, who is determined to marry for love and into poverty. Realizing this, the aristocratic Captain Jack Absolute woos her while claiming to be Ensign Beverley. But her aunt, Mrs. Malaprop, will not permit her to wed a mere ensign, and Lydia will lose half her fortune if she marries without her aunt’s permission. Among the play’s many plot complications is the appearance of Sir Anthony (Jack’s father). In the end, Lydia abandons her sentimental notions and agrees to marry Jack. The situations and characters of the play were not entirely new, but Sheridan’s rich wit and remarkable sense of theatrical effect gave them freshness. Mrs. Malaprop proved to be one of the most popular caricatures in English drama. |
Historical Memoirs of the Irish Bards, 1786
Historical Memoirs of Irish Bards was first printed in 1786 and was one of the earliest historical works written on Irish music. The preface is signed ‘Dublin, Treasury-Chambers, May 15, 1786’. It is closely followed by A General Collection of Ancient Irish Music (1796), the first work by the famous collector of Irish music, Edward Bunting. Historical Memoirs of the Irish Bards was later published in a two volume work (1818). Walker gives a history of Irish bards, together with poetry, music and musical instruments. Throughout the book, the histories are complimented by extracts from old Irish legends and poems, as well as some sketches of musical instruments. An appendix of letters, essays and memoirs appears at the end of the book. Some of those included are: letters to the author concerning the Irish harp and the style of Irish music by Rev. Edward Ledwich; an essay by William Beauford on “the Poetical Accents of the Irish”; an essay in Italian by Signor Canonico Orazio Maccari di Cortona on an ancient marble statue of a bagpiper, which is to compliment Walker’s history of the bagpipe; an essay by William Beauford on the Irish harp. A short selection of Irish melodies is also included. |
The Parent's Assistant, 1796
The Parent's Assistant is the first collection of children's stories by Maria Edgeworth, published in 1796. The first edition (Part I) had five stories: Lazy Lawrence, Tarlton, The Little Dog Trusty, The Orange Man and The False Key. Barring Out was included in the second edition of Part I published the same year. In later editions more material was added, most notably, "The Purple Jar", and a play for children, Old Poz. The 1865 American edition contained the following stories: "Lazy Lawrence", "Tarlton", "The False Key", "The Birthday Present", "Simple Susan", "The Bracelets", "The Little Merchants", "Old Poz", "The Mimic", "Mademoiselle Panache", "The Basket Woman", "The White Pigeon", "The Orphans", "Waste Not, Want Not", "Forgive and Forget", "The Barring Out, or Party Spirit", and "Eton Montem" |