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July-Nov 2005 A Christmas gift from my loving, book-addict Mother.
The School for Scandal by R.B. Sheridan
Although this was the third play in this collection of four, it's where I randomly started with. All I really have to say about it, is that perhaps I'm not at all able to understand British humor from the year 1777. Because the play seemed long-winded, unclear, and dull to me. I'm certain that some of the fault was with me, because I couldn't keep track of who the characters were, and that left me confused in a number of places. But still, even if there was a picture beside every line, showing who was there speaking, I doubt that I would have laughed at any single point in this.
The only thing I can think of which might have been good, was the portrayal of the characters, (Caricatures.) The old meddling women, who's chief, (if not sole,) pleasure in life is rumouring scandals about others were very clear. It's just that this is a type of person so removed from my experience, that I couldn't laugh at it; I was more disgusted that such a person could ever exist. (Disgusted is the wrong word, but is my meaning clear? I couldn't laugh at how much it seemed like someone I knew; I could only think of how awful it would be for someone to live in such a way.)
It's not a play I ever plan on reading again. -And it just might be one that I would avoid seeing if the chance arose. (Oh! And having such a slow, laborious start to the book, reading this play, and then having a hard time getting into the next one, explains why it took more than four months to read; It happened very often that I'd want to read something, but had no taste to pick up this book that I wasn't enjoying. -So, I'd start reading something else new. -and then finish it. -and then start Another new book, and finish that one too. And only then, would I have forgotten enough of my distaste for this book, that I'd pick it up again, and read a little bit more of it.)
The Way of the world by William Congreve
Hmmm... I found this one to be a little bit better, (incidentally, it was written about 100 years earlier.) I found that I was actually able to relate to a couple of the characters, and could empathize with them in certain situations as well. but the humor of it was still nearly all lost to me. It was to dry, and/or dated for me to have anything more than a hint that certain sections might have been funny a couple of centuries earlier.
She stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith
This was actually enjoyable for me to read. I got caught up in it, and if I did not laugh outright, I must have smiled at a good number of it's parts. It reminded me of a Shakespeare comedy; It was not refined, and was not high comedy, and was not intellectual, but it was Wholesome, somehow. It was healthy, and full, and alive. The playful twists of scheming minds made delicious suspense, to see how things would turn out.
For a young suiter to be sent to the nobel parents house, thinking it is an inn... And for him to then be struck by the unthinkable familiarity of the "innkeeper," -Were humorous situations that I could not only understand, but also appreciate. I also liked the way that the "naughty" character in it, who's a young do-nothing, that spends all his money, learns nothing, is spoiled rotten, and hasn't a single virtue, is still the most honest friend, and capable of self sacrifice, (even though it's partly coinciding with his own wishes, it seemed to me that it was still a degree of self sacrifice.) This gave his character a certain depth, (which can be missing fairly often in such "low" comedies. Not that I'm saying this is a low comedy, it's just... one that reminds me of the low style.)
Volpone by Ben Jonson
(And how is that for a name that reminds Canadians of times now past.)
I'm glad that I read this one last. My feeling is that it was the best out of the whole book. (Although, I have to question this feeling a certain amount: The fact that I appreciated them EXACTLY in the reverse order of my reading of them, suggests that I just couldn't get a handle at all on the style, and it took me the entire length of the first three plays before I could appreciate the full depth of one: the last one that I read.) That taken into account, I'd still like to say, (again,) that this was the most enjoyable of the four.
The knaves in it are a little less virtuous, and the naughty more devious, and the virtuous more pure, (and the jealous yet more jealous.) Perhaps that is one of the factors that made the play more clear to me. It was a pleasure though, to see how crafty the devious minds could be. The deceits they made were fantastic, (although it was pointed out that these deceits were only possible because the greed of others made them Desire to be so deceived.)
I also liked the way that in the end, all was revealed to everyone. And then there was punishment meted out too all who deserved it, (and that was most of them) -Both the ones who deceived, and the ones who were deeply greedy.
One thing I expected, while I was reading it though, was that the man who was telling his wife to have no fear, and to sleep with this other, (Exceedingly wealthy) man, was refused; The wife would have no such part. I thought that to bring the action to an even wilder state of disarray and chaos, that she should have been most dissatisfied with her husband, and taken that opportunity to have a great deal of freedom. I suppose, (on considering it now,) that the author's way makes sense though; It ended with showing the immorality of the husband, Contrasted with the virtue of his young wife. (As well as the greedy old man contrasted to his well intentioned son, and so on.)
Was there anything else I had to say about it though? Not that I can think of. It was good. Nice. Amusing. And also the oldest one in the book.