Š Huntington Theatre Company Boston, MA 02115 January 2005 No portion of this Teacher Curriculum Guide may be reproduced without written permission from the Huntington Theatre Company’s Department of Education. Inquiries should be directed to: Donna Glick, Director of Education Huntington Theatre Company 264 Huntington Avenue Boston, MA 02115
Limelight
Rivals
by Richard Brinsley Sheridan January 7 - February 6, 2005
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THE H
literary guide for teachers
Directed by Nicholas Martin at the Boston University Theatre
Private Collection / Bridgeman Art Library
HUNTINGTON THEATRE COMPANY IN RESIDENCE AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY
HUNTINGTON THEATRE COMPANY
Nicholas Martin
IN RESIDENCE AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY
Norma Jean Calderwood Artistic Director
Michael Maso Managing Director
THE H
Rivals
by Richard Brinsley Sheridan Directed by Nicholas Martin
Table of Contents STAFF This Teacher Literary and Curriculum Guide was prepared for the Huntington Theatre Company by
Table of Contents 2 Synopsis The Rivals 3
Richard Brinsley Sheridan: A Life in Theatre & Politics
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The City of Bath
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The Rivals in Context: Restoration Comedy
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Pineapples of Politeness
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Chronology of the Historical Landscape
Donna Glick, Director of Education
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Audience Etiquette
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Background/Objectives
Jacqueline Bennett, Intern, Boston University
10 Preparation and Key Issues
Elley Spensley, PH. D. Candidate, Boston University
12 Mastery Assessment
Marisa Jones, Education Consultant Linda Murphy Sutherland, Associate Director of Education With contributions by
Ilana Brownstein, Literary Manager
11 Further Exploration 13 Questions for After the Performance 14 Open Response and Writing
Bevin O’Gara, Assistant to the Artistic Director
16 Related Works
Wendy Weckwerth, Limelight Literary Writer
19 Lesson Plans
Melissa Wagner-O’Malley, Layout & Design
17 Media Assessment 21 Handout 1: Vocabulary in The Rivals 22 Handout 2: Uses of Irony in The Rivals
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SYNOPSIS
The Rivals T
he rivals referred to in the play’s title are the suitors pursuing the hand of Lydia Languish, a wealthy young woman of good family who yearns for an idealized love. A voracious reader of romantic fiction, Lydia insists that true love will be hers only if she elopes with a penniless, but dashing, young man. Her happiness, she believes, will be complete after their flight, when she will be summarily disinherited, free to live out her days in romantic poverty. Knowing this, the wealthy Jack Absolute woos Lydia in disguise as Ensign Beverley, a heroic soldier down on his luck. As Jack plots to secure a future with Lydia, his friend Bob Acres, an unfortunate country squire, also hopes to win her. Meanwhile Sir Lucius O’Trigger, a fortune-hunter, mistakenly believes he is courting Lydia through letters, when instead the “Delia” with whom he is corresponding is Lydia’s guardian and aunt, Mrs. Malaprop, a woman whose unintentionally comic abuse of the English language knows no bounds. Sir Anthony, Jack’s aggressive father, arrives in Bath, anxious for his son to make an advantageous match. This threatens Jack’s plans to win Lydia until it becomes clear that Sir Anthony’s matchmaking efforts are also directed toward Lydia. Confusion reigns as Jack must appear as both Ensign Beverley and Jack Absolute, and is challenged to duels under each identity by his rivals for Lydia’s affections, Bob Acres and Sir Lucius. Much of Jack and Lydia’s complicated romance is facilitated by the machinations of their trusted friends, Faulkland and Julia, another couple whose courtship is tested by unexpected hurdles before the comedy’s happy resolution. – WW L
Portrait of Richard Brinsley Sheridan by George Romney
RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN (1751-1816)
A Life in Theatre & Politics R ichard Brinsley Sheridan, born in Dublin in 1751, was the son of Thomas and Frances Sheridan. His father was a theatre manager, actor, and teacher of rhetoric, and his mother was a novelist and playwright. After a riot incited by his father’s production of Voltaire’s Mahomet: The Imposter, Sheridan’s parents left Dublin for England in 1754 without Richard. He joined his family in 1759,
and a few years later was sent to boarding school. Sheridan’s younger sister described him as: “handsome, not merely in the eyes of a partial sister, but generally agreed to be so. His cheeks had the glow of health, his eyes, the finest in the world.” In 1770 Thomas and his handsome son set up residence in Bath, the spa town in which The Rivals is set, where Thomas
made a failed attempt to launch an elocution academy. It was in Bath that Sheridan met Elizabeth Linley, a professional singer and acknowledged beauty, who later became his wife. At the time they met, Linley was engaged to a rich older man, but their engagement ended in a noisy scandal. To avoid the unwanted attentions of a later suitor, Linley decided to elope to France with Sheridan. After their return to Bath, Sheridan fought two duels to defend Linley’s honor, and the two were officially married in April 1773. Sheridan’s first play, The Rivals echoes and amplifies many elements from his own romantic adventures. The play was first staged at London’s Covent Garden on January 17, 1775. Its reception was rather cold, with critics objecting to its length and the morals of some its characters. Sheridan reworked the play and it was performed again eleven days later on January 28 to a much warmer reception. Over the next few years Sheridan continued to write plays including: St. Patrick’s Day, or The Scheming Lieutenant (1775); The School for Scandal (1777); The Camp (1778); The Critic (1779); a ballad opera called The Duenna (1775); and an adaptation of Sir John Vanbrugh’s The Relapse, which he titled A Trip to Scarborough (1777). After a lengthy writing hiatus, Sheridan wrote his final play, Pizarro, in 1799. Along with Oliver Goldsmith, Sheridan was a dominant dramatist of his day; his plays were popular and financially successful. The School for Scandal was his most acclaimed work during his lifetime. It was performed more than any other play – comedy or tragedy – in the last quarter of the 18th century. When David Garrick, one of the most famous actor-managers of the time, retired from Drury Lane in 1776, Sheridan and his partners purchased the theatre. Sheridan became the patent house’s manager, with his father as the acting coach. Soon Sheridan passed off some of the dayLimelight Literary & Curriculum Guide 2004-2005
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A scene from Sheridan’s School for Scandal at the Drury Lane Theatre, 1778
Georgian era map of Bath
The City of Bath: “We Went There Well, and Returned Home Cured” In The Rivals, Sheridan lampoons the stratified, but unusually permeable, social life of Bath, the British city in which he battled his own rivals for the heart of his beloved. Bath was one of Georgian England’s trendiest resort destinations. Built by the Romans to take advantage of England’s only hot mineral springs, the religious spa of Aquae Sulis was the centerpiece of the burgeoning town. In the 5th and 6th centuries, the Saxons made use of the healing water, as did the conquering Normans in the 11th century. The medieval period drew the poor and leprous to the city’s almshouses and hospitals as they sought relief in the famed baths. In the 17th century, members of the royal family and court frequented the spa, and thus it became a place for the wealthy to partake in the supposedly health-giving waters. But just as importantly, and perhaps more so, Bath was a place for fashionable society to see and be seen. Horace Walpole famously quipped, people “went there well and returned home cured.” Today Bath is a bustling tourist destination, and after 2000 years, continues to draw those seeking respite in the hot mineral springs. – WW
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to-day work of management to John Philip Kemble, brother to celebrated actress Sarah Siddons, and a prominent actor himself. Kemble and Siddons left Drury Lane in 1802, moving to the chief rival theatre, Covent Garden. Drury Lane suffered a catastrophic fire in 1809 – one which Sheridan watched from an armchair in the street and called “his own fireside” – at which time Sheridan was ousted from his position and Kemble returned to take over all operations. In 1780 Sheridan was elected to Parliament, a role that he combined with his duties at the theatre. He was considered a great orator and his shining moment came during the impeachment and trial of the governor-general of India. At the end of the trial, which garnered massive public attention, Sheridan ended his performance by fainting into the arms of a colleague. Sheridan lost his parliamentary seat in 1812, and was imprisoned twice for his debts. Both Sheridan and his wife engaged in extramarital affairs. In 1790, Elizabeth wrote to a friend that she and Sheridan would probably officially separate, saying, “The world, my dear Hetty, is a bad one and we are both victims of its Seductions.” – like many of Sheridan’s own characters. She became pregnant with another man’s child, and died soon after the baby’s birth in 1792. He remarried in 1795 to Esther Jane Ogle, who was twenty-five years his junior. Broke and, at the time, mostly forgotten, Sheridan died on July 17, 1816. He was buried in Westminster Abbey’s Poet’s Corner next to Richard Cumberland, whose play he lampooned to such great acclaim in The Critic. Since his death, comedies of manners have fallen in and out of fashion, but one thing has proved true in the intervening centuries: Sheridan’s wry, scathing, witty plays have become recognized as some of the best in the English language, and are now held in well-deserved high esteem. – WW L
THE RIVALS IN CONTEXT
Restoration Comedy and Its Tropes
Portrait of actor David Garrick
Like a caricaturist in the graphic arts, Sheridan isolates, emphasizes, and… ridicules his characters and the conventional dramatic situations in which he places them. – John Loftis
T
he structural and thematic similarities between Restoration comedies and the plays of Sheridan have often resulted in his plays being classified as such. Writing in the late 18th century, Sheridan is, more accurately, a Georgian playwright who inherited the Restoration formula, masterfully pairing it with an 18th century sensibility. Restoration comedy refers primarily to the style that dominated London’s stages in the late 17th century. The restoration of the Stuart dynasty to England’s throne in the form of Charles II ended a nearly twenty-year period of Puritan rule, during which time the theatres were closed. Post-
Puritan Londoners, freed from deeply conservative Puritan views, hungered for excitement and sensuality. Playwrights such as William Congreve, Aphra Behn, William Wycherley, George Farquhar, and John Vanbrugh provided it. Restoration comedy can be described in part as comedy of manners – skewering the superficiality of society. Two of the most common targets were fashion and the exaggerated and elaborate social etiquette of the period. These comedies, of which Congreve’s The Way of the World is often held up as a quintessential example, usually feature plots in which love, honor, money, and reputation are at stake. The
plays’ central figures are primarily aristocratic ladies, fops, and rakes, though servants play pivotal satellite roles. The comedies often trade on the comic disjunction between how characters view themselves versus their true natures. Theatregoers reveled in immorality on the stage and Restoration playwrights treated sexuality with a level of frankness that surpassed the occasional Elizabethan bawdry, frequently even tipping toward lewdness. Audiences sought entertainment rather than instruction, a trend that helped comedy dominate Restoration and Georgian stages. Farce, burlesque, pantomime, and interludes with comic songs and dances were popular, and therefore profitable. However, governmental patience and popular tastes for scathing satires began to grow thin at the beginning of the 18th century. As scholar Glynne Wickham writes in A History of the Theatre, by the early 1720s, these changes “had assumed proportions that amounted to a complete reversal of Restoration moral values. No matter how far credulity had to be stretched in the auditorium, on the stage virtue must triumph and be appropriately rewarded: vice, by the same token, must not go unpunished. Characters were no longer to swear. Accidents – for example, letters which miscarry, long-lost relatives unexpectedly returning from foreign parts, industrious but indigent sons or daughters rewarded with fortune overnight by the timely discovery of a missing will – came back to the stage, together with repentance, tears, and forgiveness, as essential mechanisms to resolve tangled plots in need of a happy ending. Pathos also recovered legitimacy in comedy.” Sentimental comedies pushed “sex comedies of the 1770s” off of England’s stages. Despite these shifts, there were still some social satirists writing with sharp pens, including John Gay (The Beggar’s Opera) and Henry Fielding (Tom Thumb), who took aim at corruption in a government recently changed from monarchical Limelight Literary & Curriculum Guide 2004-2005
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The Very Pineapple of Politeness! Mrs. Malaprop & her Linguistic Legacy Mrs. Malaprop’s legacy to the language she so winningly bungles is a term coined in her honor: malapropism. According to Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, it refers to a “humorous misapplication of a word or phrase, specifically a blundering use of a word that sounds somewhat like the one intended but is ludicrously wrong in the context.” The Oxford English Dictionary suggests that Sheridan took inspiration for his character from the French mal à propos, meaning inappropriate. – WW
Here are some of the lady’s choicest examples: “You thought, Miss! I don’t know any business you have to think at all – thought does not become a young woman; the point we would request of you is, that you will promise to forget this fellow – to illiterate him, I say, quite from your memory.” “I would by no means wish a daughter of mine to be a progeny of learning; I don’t think so much learning becomes a young woman… I would send her to a boarding school in order to learn a little ingenuity and artifice. …But above all, Sir Anthony, she should be mistress of orthodoxy, that she might not mis-spell, and mispronounce words so shamefully as girls usually do; and likewise that she might reprehend the true meaning of what she is saying. This, Sir Anthony, is what I would have a woman to know; and I don’t think there is a superstitious article in it.” “…but mind Lucy – if ever you betray what you are entrusted with (unless it be other people’s secrets to me) you forfeit my malevolence for ever: and your being a simpleton shall be no excuse for your locality.” “Sir – you overpower me with good-breeding. He is the very pineapple of politeness!” “I am sure I have done everything in my power since I exploded the affair! Long ago I laid my positive conjunctions on her never to think on the fellow again – I have since laid Sir Anthony’s prepositions before her – but I’m sorry to say she seems resolved to decline every particle that I enjoin her.” “Oh! it gives me the hydrostatics to such a degree!” “Sure if I reprehend anything in this world, it is the use of my oracular tongue, and a nice derangement of epitaphs!”
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rule to cabinet and parliament rule. The enemies they made included Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole who ushered through parliament the Licensing Act of 1737 – a law that banned all acting and plays other than those authorized by the Lord Chamberlain’s office, effectively censoring all unfavorable drama. Wickham notes that only Sheridan and Oliver Goldsmith “kept the banner of satiric, as opposed to sentimental, comedy flying during the rest of the 18th century.” In his role as a shareholder in Drury Lane, Sheridan revived many early Restoration comedies, toning them down by excising suggestive material. The Rivals and School for Scandal, Sheridan’s two plays that have been regularly produced for over two hundred years, rely on and emerge out of the Restoration mode. Like his Restoration counterparts, Sheridan endowed individual characters in The Rivals with humorously idiosyncratic personalities. Though the detail of their portrayal makes each figure in The Rivals singular, some of them can be traced to character types familiar to 18th century audiences: Sir Lucius O’Trigger as the amorous Irish gentleman; Sir Anthony Absolute as the tyrannical, cranky father; Bob Acres as the awkward country bumpkin; Lucy as the crafty, manipulating servant; not to mention Lydia Languish herself, a love-besotted young woman; and Mrs. Malaprop, a comically inappropriate older lady. In Restoration comedies, character names speak volumes, and Sheridan used this trait to great effect in The Rivals. Lord Byron wrote that, “Whatever Sheridan has done or chosen to do has been, par excellence, always the best of its kind. He has written the best comedy…the best drama…the best farce…and, to crown all, delivered the very best oration ever conceived or heard in this country.” The precision and grace of Sheridan’s comedies have caused some critics to assert that he was the premier English playwright between Shakespeare and Shaw. – WW L
SHERIDAN’S LIFETIME
A Chronology of the Historical Landscape 1751 Richard Brinsley (Butler) Sheridan born in Dublin. Diderot publishes the first volume of his Encyclopédie.
1760 Haydn writes symphonies 2 through 5. 1762 Sheridan begins attending Harrow. 1764 Brown University founded in Providence, Rhode Island. 1765 The potato becomes Europe’s most popular food. 1766 Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, two English surveyors, chart the boundary between Maryland and Pennsylvania, the line that later demarcated slaveholding from free states.
1768 Boston citizens refuse to quarter British troops. 1769 Painter Joshua Reynolds is knighted. Mrs. R. B. Sheridan and her sister, Miss Linley as painted by Gainsborough
1770 Sheridan moves to Bath. Beethoven is born in Bonn, Germany.
1771 The first edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica is published. The Assembly Rooms, the social center of Bath, are opened.
1774 Austrian physician F. W. Mesmer employs hypnosis as medical treatment. 1775 Sheridan’s The Rivals performed in London’s Covent Garden Theatre. Jane Austen is born. The Revolutionary War breaks out at Lexington and Concord.
1773 Sheridan marries Elizabeth Linley, the toast of Bath. 342 chests of tea are thrown from ships into Boston Harbor. Oliver Goldsmith writes She Stoops to Conquer.
1776 Sheridan becomes a partner in the management of London’s Drury Lane Theatre. The Declaration of Independence is adopted by the Continental Congress.
1777
Sheridan writes The School for Scandal. The Stars and Stripes are adopted as the Continental Congress flag.
1778 La Scala opera house opens in Milan. 1779 Sheridan’s The Critic receives its first performance. Thomas Johnson’s illustration of the King’s Bath in 1675, located in the center of the city of Bath
The first velocipedes, a precursor to the bicycle, are made in Paris. Limelight Literary & Curriculum Guide 2004-2005
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1780 Sheridan is elected to Parliament.
1811 Jane Austen writes Sense and Sensibility.
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is founded in Boston.
1812 Sheridan loses his seat in Parliament
1783 The Peace of Paris treaties end the American Revolution.
President Madison signs a declaration of war on Britain.
The American writer Washington Irving is born in New York City.
1786 Mozart writes The Marriage of Figaro. 1787 The dollar is introduced as U.S. currency. 1789 George Washington is inaugurated as first President of the U.S.. French revolutionaries storm the Bastille.
1790 Washington, D.C. is founded. The first session of U.S. Supreme Court commences.
1792 Elizabeth Linley Sheridan dies in childbirth. Mary Wollstonecraft writes “A Vindication of the Rights of Women.”
1793 Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin. 1794 The U.S. Navy is established. Thomas Paine writes “The Age of Reason,” a discourse on the place of religion in society.
1795 Sheridan marries Esther Jane Ogle.
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm publish the first volume of Nursery and Household Tales in Berlin. The Drury Lane Theatre
1800 Washington, D.C. becomes the U.S. capital. New York City has approximately 60,000 inhabitants.
1801 Robert Fulton makes the first submarine. 1803 The Louisiana Purchase doubles the area of the United States. Ralph Waldo Emerson, American Transcendentalist, is born in Boston.
1808 Beethoven writes Symphony No. 6 in F Major, op. 68 (Pastoral). 1809 Sheridan’s Drury Lane Theatre is destroyed in a fire. Abraham Lincoln, Charles Darwin, and Nikolai Gogal are born.
1813 Simón Bolivar becomes dictator of Venezuela. German composer Richard Wagner is born in Leipzig.
1814 Edmund Kean debuts as Shylock at Drury Lane. Francis Scott Key writes the lyrics to “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
1815 Napoleon is defeated at the Battle of Waterloo. 1816 Richard Brinsley Sheridan dies in London on July 7; is buried in Westminster Abbey on July 13. Byron writes “Monody on the Death of the Right Honourable R. B. Sheridan” to be spoken at the rebuilt Drury Lane Theatre. – WW
Suggestions for Further Reading Dramatic Works of Richard Brinsley Sheridan, vols. 1–2, edited by Cecil Price (1966) Letters of Richard Brinsley Sheridan, vols. 1–3, edited by Cecil Price (1973)
1796 Napoleon marries Josephine. 1799 Sheridan writes his patriotic melodrama Pizarro. The Rosetta Stone is discovered in Egypt. 8
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The Traitor’s Kiss: The Life of Richard Brinsley Sheridan, by Fintan O’Toole (1997) Sheridan and the Drama of Georgian England, by John Loftis (1977) Sheridan’s Comedies: Their Contexts and Achievements, by Mark S. Auburn (1977) Sheridan: The Track of a Comet, by Madeleine Bingham (1972)
BU Theatre by T. Charles Erickson
Audience Etiquette Because many students have not had the opportunity to view live theatre, we are including an audience etiquette section with each literary/curriculum guide. Teachers, please spend time on this subject since it will greatly enhance your students’ experience at the theatre. 1. How does one respond to a live performance of a play, as opposed to when seeing a film at a local cinema? What is the best way to approach viewing a live performance of a play? What things should you look and listen for? 2. What is the audience’s role during a live performance? How do you think audience behavior can affect an actor’s performance? 3. What do you know about the theatrical rehearsal process? Have you ever participated in one as an actor, singer, director, or technical person? 4. How do costumes, set, lights, sound and props enhance a theatre production?
Bath, South Parade, 1775, Thomas Malton
BACKGROUND
& Objectives F
or the heroes in The Rivals, the journey toward love is complicated by mistaken identity, accident, and the conflicting desires of family and friends. Jack Absolute, a young aristocrat, seeks the hand of Lydia Languish, a woman of equal status. Although Jack’s father, Sir Anthony, and Lydia’s guardian, Mrs. Malaprop, encourage this advantageous match, Lydia rejects the proposal. Her desire, inspired by romance novels, is to elope with a poor man, thereby compelling her disinheritance from the family fortune and leaving her to live a life of romantic poverty. Jack disguises himself as Ensign Beverley, a penniless but heroic soldier, in an effort to create the romance for which Lydia is yearning. But the game quickly spins out of Jack’s control as his friend Bob Acres, a country squire, and Lucius O’Trigger, a fortune hunter, become rivals for Lydia’s love. As the complicated romance unfolds, Jack must make appearances as both himself and Ensign Beverley, and must turn for help to his friends Faulkland and Julia, whose own courtship is tested amid the chaos.
Objectives Students will: 1. Identify key issues in The Rivals including: • idealizations of romance • the pursuit of love • mistaken identity • the idleness of the leisure class 2. Relate themes and issues in The Rivals to their own lives. 3. Analyze the themes and issues within the geographical, historical, and social context of the play. 4. Participate in hands-on activities that enhance understanding of the production. 5. Evaluate the Huntington Theatre Company’s production of The Rivals. Limelight Literary & Curriculum Guide 2004-2005
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PREPARATION FOR
The Rivals RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN As an overview, read aloud “Richard Brinsley Sheridan: A Life in Theatre & Politics” (P. 3). In groups, instruct students to research Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s life and works in greater depth. Ask students to look also at “Sheridan’s Lifetime: A Chronology of the Historical Landscape” (P. 7) for contextual clues and information. Suggest that students research topics that interests them most. Those may include but are not limited to: • City of Bath • Sheridan’s wife, Elizabeth Linley • The School for Scandal (1777)
City of Bath, 1694
• Drury Lane and Covent Garden • Sheridan’s political career Sheridan’s career ranged from dramatist to politician – some say he brought theatrics to the parliament. His personal life was also filled with dramatic incidents including extra-marital affairs and imprisonment for unpaid debts. His plays, written in the style of Restoration Comedy, expose the social conventions against which he may have been fighting in his own life. Many authors and playwrights are inspired by actual events and their own personal experiences when writing works of fiction. Ask students, based on their research, if Sheridan’s life would make an interesting story to dramatize? Would the subjects of his plays have been different if he grew up in a lower social class or had married someone else? How do you think his contemporaries viewed him – did his mistresses or financial problems hurt his reputation as a writer or politician? Would these scandals affect the reputation of a celebrity today? 10
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KEY ISSUES Idealizations of Romance Lydia Languish’s obsession with romance novels translates into an unusual notion of what she needs to be happy in love. She rejects the ideal promoted by Mrs. Malaprop, her guardian, which is to marry a man of equal standing. To Mrs. Malaprop, whether the couple will get along is of little relevance, so long as the suitor comes from a wealthy family. But to Lydia, the opposite principle governs. Lydia is determined to meet the man she will marry before her twenty-first birthday, so that she will be disinherited if her aunt disapproves of the marriage. She intends to prove her love by giving up everything she has while simultaneously testing her future husband, who must be so filled with desire that he will not wait a moment to marry her. In Lydia’s mind, Ensign Beverley, a poor and downtrodden soldier, fits all of the requirements, especially because Mrs. Malaprop forbids Lydia from carrying the relationship for-
ward. Comparing the romantic ideas of Lydia and Mrs. Malaprop, whose seem more likely to produce a lasting marriage? In today’s society, which types of romances have been idealized? What characteristics do these relationships have? Ask students to consider what the ideal romantic partner would be like for them.
The Pursuit of Love The main characters in The Rivals all desire a perfect match. Whether or not they have actually found such a match in Lydia Languish, they choose to fight for her. From letters, to duels, to bribery of servants, no expense of time or money proves too great in their pursuit of “love.” The rivalry is played out through silly tests. How does modern “dating” between American young people compare with these eighteenth-century courtships? Is the “chase” still an important component of romantic relationships? Would this play be as interesting if fewer obstacles stood in the way of love?
Mistaken Identity Jack wins Lydia’s heart not as the wealthy and eligible bachelor that he is, but instead as a heroic poor man. This assumed identity creates some confusion within the play as Jack is occasionally forced to make appearances as both Beverley and himself. Yet his dual identity adds humor, conflict, and suspense to the play as it unfolds. Meanwhile, Sir Lucious O’Trigger accidentally courts Mrs. Malaprop or “Delia,” instead of romancing Lydia as he intended. Mrs. Malaprop finds excitement through her alter ego, which distracts from her status as a mourning widow and guardian of a difficult child. Unfortunately for Lydia, Mrs. Malaprop’s secret romance causes her to be even more sensitive to and suspicious of her niece. Because of these dual identities, for most of the play it is unclear to the characters exactly whom their rivals are. For example, Bob Acres and Sir Lucius O’Trigger seek advice and support from each other, not realizing that they are competitors in love. How do the additional characters of Beverley and Delia add to the excitement of the play? Do they seem essential to the story? In what genres of contemporary film or television would an audience see the use of dual identities? Idleness of the Leisure Class It is not a mistake that the main characters, Jack and Lydia, are well-off young people who have time to think up new identities for themselves and to read romance novels. It is precisely because they have the time and money to devote to these tasks that chaos ensues. What comment is Sheridan making about the upper class? Do you think Lydia would really be happy as a poverty-stricken wife? How would the story change if neither Jack nor Lydia came from a wealthy family? What is the significance of the story being set in Bath? What does this tell us about the characters in this story?
FOR FURTHER
Exploration 1. Sheridan’s The Rivals was first performed in London’s Covent Garden Theatre in 1775, yet the themes, love triangles and comic situations are entertaining even today. Imagine that you have been asked to modernize The Rivals for television, film or the stage and that the production is to be set in the U.S. As an example consider the following films: Ten Things I Hate About You starring Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger, which was based on Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, and Clueless starring Alicia Silverstone, which was based on Jane Austen’s Emma. Consider which present-day actors would best fill the roles of Jack, Lydia and Mrs. Malaprop. What forms of communication might replace love letters? What is the contemporary equivalent of challenging someone to a duel? 2. The dramaturg serves as a resource for directors, actors and the company producing a play. The dramaturg provides important background information and other details about the play, which are useful to the artists interpreting the story, be they designers or understudies. If you were assigned to be the dramaturg for a production of The Rivals, what research and visual stimulation would you provide for the director and actors at the first rehearsal? 3. Courtship and the search for love are major forces propelling the characters forward in The Rivals. Consider how Lydia and the other characters in the play imagine that
they will find their way into marriage relationships. What important traits does the ideal marriage have? Compare the dating and “courtship” experience of the characters in Sheridan’s play with those of people in present-day society. Has the role and influence of parents or friends changed? Have the roles of money, financial status, religion or ethnicity become more or less important to people looking for love (and what does love or should love have to do with these things)? In which time period do you believe marriages were more “successful?” Be sure to consider what it means to be successful in marriage – avoiding divorce may be too simple an explanation. 4. Restoration Comedy is defined as a social comedy of manners, reacting against Puritanism and targeting “the exaggerated and elaborate social etiquette of the period” (P. 5). A convention of this genre was to use stereotypical “character types” whose names revealed their traits to the audience (for examples see P. 5 “The Rivals in Context: Restoration Comedy and Its Tropes”). In groups of three or four, students should select a play, book or film that is a reaction against the society it portrays. They should then consider the names of the main characters. Why did the playwright or author select these names, and what, if anything, do these names reveal? What would be the advantages and disadvantages of using character type in your writing? Limelight Literary & Curriculum Guide 2004-2005
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19. Faulkland learns of the duel between Jack and Sir Lucius. He devises a plan to test Julia’s love. What might his idea be?
MASTERY
Assessment 1. During the opening scene Drudge reveals a secret to Thomas. What is the nature of their relationship? What does Thomas learn about his master’s son? 2. What hobby does Lydia enjoy? How might this activity influence her ideas about love? 3. Julia, Lydia’s cousin, makes an unexpected visit to Mrs. Malaprop’s house. What news does Lydia share about her love interest? And what romantic interest is her watchful aunt pursuing? 4. According to Julia, what odd habit does Mrs. Malaprop have? When Mrs. Malaprop says, “Now don’t attempt to extirpate yourself from the matter; I have proof controvertible of it,” what words has she misused, and what do you think she actually means? 5. What does Sir Anthony suggest is the cause of Mrs. Malaprop’s problem with Lydia? What response does Mrs. Malaprop give to Sir Anthony, and why is it humorous? 6. What is the true purpose of Sir Anthony’s visit to Mrs. Malaprop? How is the proposal received by Lydia’s guardian? 7. Lucy reveals her involvement with the developing relationship between Mrs. Malaprop and Sir Lucius O’Trigger. What confusion has she caused, and for what reasons? 8. Why is Faulkland troubled? What news does Jack share in an effort to relieve his anxiety? 9. Mr. Acres, a friend of Jack’s, comes to visit. What relationship does Acres 12
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unknowingly have with Jack? Does Jack seem concerned by this revelation? 10. Jack’s father, Sir Anthony, demands that Jack marry in order to receive his inheritance. Why is it ironic that Jack stubbornly refuses? How long does Sir Anthony give Jack to change his mind? 11. Drudge and Lucy meet, and Drudge discovers Sir Anthony’s intentions. How does Jack respond to this news? 12. Julia and Faukland are finally reunited. What do they discuss, and how does their conversation end? Does this behavior seem typical for a young couple? 13. What does Mrs. Malaprop mean when she calls Jack the “very pineapple of politeness!”? 14. What “scheme” does Jack concoct with Mrs. Malaprop? How does Jack deceive both Mrs. Malaprop and Lydia at the same time?
20. What trick does Faulkland play on Julia? When she realizes she has been deceived, what decision does she make about Faulkland? Do her actions seem justified? 21. Drudge and David arrive with news for Lydia, Julia and Mrs. Malaprop. What do the servants ask them to do? David also informs Sir Anthony of the duel. What is Sir Anthony’s reaction? 22. Sir Lucius and Acres arrive first at King’s-Mead-Fields. Describe each man’s state of mind. 23. The final scene is one of multiple revelations and discoveries. Which couples emerge from the meeting? Is everyone satisfied with the outcome? Why do Julia and Lydia forgive their love interests? What does Mrs. Malaprop mean when she says “men are all Bavarians”? 24. In the epilogue, what message does Sheridan share with the audience about love?
15. Acres and Sir Lucius meet briefly. What advice does Sir Lucius offer to a very distraught Acres? What “rival” does Sir Lucius hope to challenge to a duel, and how might Acres’s presence at this challenge cause confusion? 16. Acres asks a favor of Jack. What is it, and how does Jack respond? 17. Sir Anthony forces Jack into an unexpected meeting with Mrs. Malaprop and Lydia. What is Lydia’s reaction to learning Beverley’s true identity? 18. When and where does Sir Lucius ask to meet Jack? What reason does he give for the meeting? What is Jack’s reaction to his request?
Interior of the Old Intimate Drury Lane Theatre in 1792, engraving by Hewlet after a drawing by Capon
D. What qualities were revealed by the actions and speech of the characters? E. Did the characters develop or undergo a transformation during the course of the play? F. In what ways did the characters reveal the themes of the play?
3. About the Set A. Was the set usable and workable? B. Was the set compatible with the production as a whole? Were there any features of the set that distracted from the action of the play? C. Did the design reflect the themes, type and style of the play? D. Were the artistic qualities of unity, balance, line, texture, mass and color used effectively?
Interior of Covent Garden Theatre, 1794
QUESTIONS FOR AFTER
Attending the Performance Note to teachers: After viewing the play, ask the following questions: 1. About the Play and Production A. What was your overall reaction? Were you surprised? Intrigued? Amused? Explain your reactions. How was the play structured? Did it build to a single climax? Was it episodic? Did this structure help or hinder your understanding of the play? Was the dialogue interesting? Appropriate? Poetic? Were you aware of the imagery and symbolism during the course of the play?
Would you have been aware of these devices without previous preparation? B. Was the pace and tempo of the production effective and appropriate?
2. About the Characters A. Did the characters touch you personally in some ways? Did you care about them? B. Were the characters three-dimensional and believable? C. Were the motivations of the characters clear?
E. Did the set provide appropriate environment and atmosphere? F. Was the set used to present any symbolic images or did it simply represent the space in which the action of the play occurred? Did it contain elements of both a “realistic” and a “symbolic” approach?
4. About Lighting and Sound A. Did the lighting establish mood and atmosphere? Was the illumination sufficient? Did the lighting harmonize with, and contribute toward, the unity of the production? B. Did the sound used in the play enhance your overall experience?
5. About Costumes/Makeup/ Hairstyles A. Were all of these elements correct in terms of the period fashion? Were they suitable in terms of character and storytelling for the production? B. Did the color/design of the costumes and make-up serve to illuminate the themes, type and style of the play, or any particular choices of interpretations in this production? Limelight Literary & Curriculum Guide 2004-2005
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Writing Assignments 1. Both Jack and Lydia fiercely resist the parental guidance they receive with regard to marriage, despite the fact that their guardians hope to marry them to each other. Discuss the irony of this situation, and consider the conflict that inevitably develops when what a parent thinks is best for a child competes with what the child wants for him/herself.
3. Mrs. Malaprop and her inappropriate use of language is perhaps the most comic aspect of Sheridan’s play. Consider the following line: “But above all, Sir Anthony, she [Lydia] should be mistress of orthodoxy, that she might not misspell, and mispronounce words so shamefully as girls usually do; and likewise that she might reprehend the true meaning of what she is saying. This, Sir Anthony, is what I would have a woman to know; and I don’t think there is a superstitious article in it.” Why is this line ironic? What words has Mrs. Malaprop used incorrectly? Would you be able to replace them? Despite her lack of linguistic skill, the audience and the characters around her are still able to understand what she tries to communicate. Support the argument that context is as important as the true meaning of words when communicating with others.
2. Sheridan was forced to re-write and edit The Rivals after it opened in 1775. At first critics complained about its length and the “morals” of the main characters. The edited version was well received by audiences and critics alike. Speculate as to how Sheridan altered the story – how might he have changed the morals of his characters, and what scenes might he have shortened or cut out? Would you make any further revisions to his piece?
4. Sheridan’s love life was not without conflict or scandal. He eloped with Elizabeth Linley, a professional singer, after she broke her engagement to a wealthy older man. Sheridan fought a couple of duels to defend her honor, yet both became involved in extramarital affairs. Linley eventually died soon after she gave birth to another man’s child. Sheridan later married a woman 25 years younger than himself. How might the tragedy and diffi-
OPEN RESPONSE
and Writing Instructions for students: Please answer the following as thoroughly as possible. Remember to use topic sentences and examples from the text.
Open Response Assessment 1. What is The Rivals about? How might today’s young people relate to the story? 2. How does the relationship between Lydia and Jack change and evolve from the beginning to the end of the play? Is this a believable evolution? 3. Why do you think Sheridan titled this play The Rivals? What significance does the title have? Who are “the rivals” for which the play is named? 4. What role, if any, does “status” (social, financial, intellectual) play in the key moments of the play, and how do characters gain or lose their status throughout the course of the story? 5. In attempting to fool Lydia, Jack takes a chance that their love will overcome the truth about his background. Do you think this was a good strategy?
8. What is Sheridan saying about “love”? Do you think the main characters in The Rivals change their views about love by the end of the play? Why or why not?
6. The use of stereotypical “character type” is common in Restoration Comedies. In what ways might the characters in The Rivals, such as Lydia, Lucy or Mrs. Malaprop also defy these stereotypes? 7. The Rivals is one of Sheridan’s most well-known plays and is still regularly performed over 200 years after its first performance. What is the lasting appeal of this work, and will it continue to be produced into the future? 14
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Scene from Sheridan’s School for Scandal at the Drury Lane Theatre, 1777
culty of his personal relationships have influenced the plays he wrote? While his life seems more like a drama than a comedy, what experiences did he have that helped shape comedic plays?
RELATED WORKS AND TEACHER RESOURCES
5. Lydia is desperate to marry a poor man and to be disinherited, and she believes that this is the only way that she can find happiness. If the situation were reversed, and Lydia were desperate to marry a rich man, many would find her to be a shallow and despicable character. Make the argument that Lydia wanting to marry for a lack of money is as morally corrupt as marrying for money. 6. How do you feel at the end of the play? Are you satisfied with the ending? Why or why not? Restoration comedies are often characterized as having “neat” and “happy” endings. Do you think that all of the characters emerge happily from this story, and if so, does this seem realistic? Which characters do you think have the right to be disappointed by the conclusion of The Rivals? 7. Consider one of the supporting characters in The Rivals. All characters in this play are presumably affected by the decisions of the main characters and by the social and political circumstances in which they live. Write a journal entry from the point of view of one of these characters, expanding on what we already know about them. Place them at a key moment in the play, when their participation in the day’s events will help propel the action of the play forward. Be sure to send the Huntington a copy! 8. Write a critical review of the Huntington Theatre Company’s production of The Rivals and submit it for publication in your school newspaper. Be sure to send the Huntington a copy!
Your next unit might explore other works by Richard Brinsley Sheridan with similar themes, issues and conflicts, such as: The School for Scandal (1777) The Critic; or, A Tragedy Rehearsed (1779) The Duenna (1775) (a comic opera) A Trip to Scarborough (1777) (adapted from Vanbrugh’s The Relapse) You may also explore the following books, plays, websites and films as supplements to this literary and curriculum guide. BOOKS Crane, David and James Morwood, ed. Sheridan Studies. Cambridge University Press, 1995. Jordan, Thomas H. The Theatrical Craftsmanship of Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s The School for Scandal. Revisionist Press, 1974. PLAYS The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde (1895) She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith (1773) WEBSITES Resources including biographical information, plot summaries, and Internet links to other websites. www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PRsheridan.htm www.bartleby.com/people/SheridanR.html www.theatrehistory.com/irish/sheridan001.html Films The School for Scandal (1975) directed by Michael Langham and Nick Havinga. Broadway Theatre Archive. The Importance of Being Earnest (2002) directed by Oliver Parker.
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MEDIA
Assessment These questions and hands-on exercises are interactive challenges in Drama, Music, Dance, Visual Arts and Design that inspire further consideration or understanding of the play.
ACTING Have each of your students choose a character from The Rivals to portray. As if they were preparing for the role in rehearsal, have them answer the following questions about their characters: Creating a Character a. What does my character want in the play? What is his/her overall objective? b. What or who are the obstacles in the way of achieving this objective? Does what my character wants change throughout the course of the play? How? c. Does my character change during the course of the play? What is my character’s journey or plot transformation? d. What are the contradictions inherent in my character?
Famous actor of the period, David Garrick portraying Richard III, engraving by William Hogarth, 1746
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Role Play and Improvisation a. Ask students to improvise an important moment from The Rivals. Students should test the effects of changing something about the performance – tone of voice, a character trait, or a vital remark. How does such a change affect the selected moment? How does the pacing or posturing of an actor affect the comic timing of the piece? Is it possible that a change in the tone of voice can turn a serious moment into a humorous one? b. Ask students to improvise a scene after the conclusion of the play. What happens to Lydia and Jack? Mrs. Malaprop? This exercise will help students to understand that creating a work always involves an interrupted process or a decision to stop what could be endlessly revised. c. Divide the students into three groups and assign each group to represent one act in the play. Students should create a tableau or stage picture that represents the characters during that act of the play. (You may choose to divide the play according to scenes or in some other way appropriate to the size of your class.)
Performing a Scene Ask students to act out a scene from The Rivals. They should use props and costume pieces if possible to enhance the experience. Students should carefully consider their placement on stage, blocking (who moves where and when), gestures, vocal tone, and the intended emotional impact of the scene. If there is time, ask students to memorize the scene in which they will perform.
VISUAL ART Ask students to create a poster design for the Huntington Theatre Company’s production of The Rivals using the media with which they feel most comfortable (photography, paints, collage, etc.). Encourage students to consider texture and color when making decisions about how best to represent this play. Suggest to students that this poster will be used to advertise the production in and around the Boston area. How might you catch a prospective audience member’s eye? What images or pictures would be appropriate to use in this advertising campaign, symbols that reflect the The Rivals? After students have completed their design, ask them to share their work with the class. Hold a contest and send the winning poster to be displayed at the Huntington Theatre Company! MUSIC/DANCE Students should research 18th-century English music and dance styles. Ask students to create an additional scene to the play in which Jack and Lydia finally marry. At the wedding reception, the hosts and the guests should participate in a traditional dance. Students should select an appropriate piece of music and choreograph a traditional dance for the class to learn. Allow time for students to talk about the process they used in creating, rehearsing, and performing their dance. DESIGN Students should research 18th-century clothing styles in England and create costume designs that are appropriate for a production of The Rivals. Encourage students to gather pictures and renderings from the time period, and to choose colors, textures and materials that reflect the trends and styles. How would Lydia’s dress be different from that of her servant Lucy? Students should be able to defend their choices and explain how each design reflects the social and economic context of the production.
Map of Bath, 1735
Lesson Plans Teachers’ note: Choose activities that are appropriate for your classroom period. All assignments are suggestions. Only a teacher knows his or her class well enough to determine the level and depth to which any piece of literature may be examined.
ONE-DAY LESSON PLAN introduces students to the context and major themes of the production. DAY ONE - Introducing the Play 1. Distribute Mastery Assessment (P. 12) for The Rivals for students to read before, and to review again after attending the performance. 1. Optional: Distribute Vocabulary Handout and ask students to define each word. A vocabulary test could be administered after viewing the play. 2. Read the “Synopsis” (P. 2) of The Rivals. Discuss other works students have studied with similar themes and issues. 3. Copy and distribute “Richard Brinsley Sheridan: A Life in Theatre & Politics” in the literary guide (P. 3) In groups or individually, ask students to underline key information about the playwright and share their ideas with the class. 1. Optional: To save time, narrate highlights for students. 4. If time allows, discuss further pages from the literary guide, including “Sheridan’s Lifetime: A Chronology of the Historical Landscape” (P. 7).
FOUR-DAY LESSON PLAN introduces students to the production and then, after viewing the performance, asks them to think more critically about what they have seen. Includes time for class discussion and individual assessment. DAY ONE - Introducing the Production Same as Day One above; completed before seeing the production.
DAY TWO - The Production Attend the performance at the Huntington Theatre Company. Homework: Students should answer selected Mastery Assessment questions.
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DAY THREE - Follow-up Discussion Discuss Mastery Assessment answers in class. DAY FOUR - Test Individual Assessment: Choose either several questions from the Open Response Assessment or one question from Writing Assignments (P. 14) for students to answer in one class period. Optional: Students may choose one of the For Further Exploration (P. 11) or Media Assessment (P. 16) tasks to complete for extra credit
SEVEN-DAY LESSON PLAN completely integrates The Rivals into your schedule. Within seven school days, you can introduce the play, assign reading and vocabulary, and assess your students on both a group and individual level. Ideally students will view the play after completing all assigned work. DAY ONE - Introducing the Play Same as Day One Optional: Distribute Vocabulary Handout due on Day Four. Homework: Read Acts One, Two, and Three of The Rivals and answer corresponding Mastery Assessment questions. DAY TWO - Acts One, Two, and Three Discuss Acts One, Two, and Three and answers to Mastery Assessment questions. Homework: Read Acts Four, Five, and Epilogue and answer corresponding Mastery Assessment questions. DAY THREE - Acts Four, Five, and Epilogue Discuss the end of the play and answers to Mastery Assessment questions. DAY FOUR - Attend Performance DAY FIVE – Group Work Divide students into groups. Students should select a key issue from Preparation for The Rivals (P. 10) and prepare an original project based on that theme. Schedule library time if necessary. DAY SIX: Presentations Group Assessment: Students present their work to the class. Homework: Students should complete Handout 2, Uses of Irony in The Rivals. DAY SEVEN: Test Individual Assessment: Choose either several questions from the Open Response Assessment or one question from the Writing Assignments for students to answer in one class period. Optional: Students may choose to complete one of the For Further Exploration or Media Assessment tasks for extra credit.
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Name:_______________________________________________________
Date:_____________________
Handout 1
VOCABULARY IN THE RIVALS Define the following terms. ward ________________________________________________
incorrigible
charioteer ____________________________________________
mirth ________________________________________________
caprice ______________________________________________
superfluous
fopperies
____________________________________________
ardent ________________________________________________ simpleton ____________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
infallible ______________________________________________ penitent ______________________________________________ appellation ____________________________________________
belie ________________________________________________ upbraid ______________________________________________ extirpate ______________________________________________ proverbial ____________________________________________ controvertible
________________________________________ inducement __________________________________________
misanthropy __________________________________________ coxcomb ______________________________________________ laconically ____________________________________________ quagmire ____________________________________________ diabolical ____________________________________________ alacrity ______________________________________________ ingenuity ____________________________________________ artifice
______________________________________________
supercilious __________________________________________ intuition ______________________________________________
adulation ____________________________________________ affluence
____________________________________________
touchstone ____________________________________________
invocation ____________________________________________
cantankerous __________________________________________
malevolence __________________________________________
cadence ______________________________________________
captious ______________________________________________
boatswain ____________________________________________
Name:_______________________________________________________
Date:_____________________
Handout 2
USES OF IRONY IN THE RIVALS After reading The Rivals, consider the use of irony in Sheridan’s play. Irony occurs when the literal meaning of the play contrasts sharply with its intended meaning. Irony may be used by a playwright or author to add to the conflict of the story or as a humorous device. In dramatic form, the reader or audience may be asked to recognize various forms of irony, including: Verbal Irony: author says one thing, but means something else Dramatic Irony: the audience perceives something that a character in the story does not Situational Irony: a discrepancy between the expected result and the actual result
Using the table below, give examples of the use of irony in The Rivals supported by the text.
TYPE OF IRONY
VERBAL IRONY (EXAMPLE 1)
VERBAL IRONY (EXAMPLE 2)
DRAMATIC IRONY (EXAMPLE 1)
DRAMATIC IRONY (EXAMPLE 2)
SITUATIONAL IRONY (EXAMPLE 1)
SITUATIONAL IRONY (EXAMPLE 2)
TEXT EXAMPLE
ACTUAL MEANING OF TEXT OR SITUATION