Critical essay nº 2.
Samuel Reinoso Uceda.
In this essay we are going to deal with the play “She Stoops to Conquer” (1773) by Oliver
Goldsmith, specifically with the first act, which is divided in two scenes.
The main objective of this essay is to gather as much information as possible about the play, and classify it according to MLA guidelines in the following topics: staging, characters, action, topic, genre, language and audience.. Besides, as the different points we are going to deal are described , it is possible to find comparisons about some aspects of this work with other ones; from both contemporary authors, such as Richard Brinsley Sheridan, playwright of comedies of …show more content…
The action starts with a conversation between Mr and Mrs Hardcastle, a old couple that live in a big country house with Tony Lumpkin, Mrs.Hardcastle's son with her former husband; their daughter Miss Hardcastle, also known as Kate; and their niece Miss Neville. All characters in this first scene belongs to a high social status, but one of them, Tony, prefers to band together with lower classes which are criticised by her step-father and her mother. Mr Hardcastle has an attitude more conservative than Mrs Hardcastle. I mean, he explains that prefers old things and also censure the pose of Tony. Although Mrs Hardcastle criticises his son too, she opts for a more protector approach. She tries to defend him even when he acts with indiference to everyone. Moreover, Kate is more sympathetic to his family than Tony. We notice that in the fact that she accepts dressing like her father wants during the evening, but also claims some independence in order to wear more fashionable clothes during the morning. The last character who lives in the house is Miss Neville, Kate's cousin. She has a good relation with her cousin, however, she feels a great rejection to Tony and is in love with Hastings. Despite this, Mrs Hardcastle believes that a future engagement between the his son and Miss Neville would be possible and tries to propitiate it, carried only by materialism. In the second …show more content…
There are several situations that may cause laughts in the audience. For example; the discussion between marriage Hardcastle about the age of Mrs.Hardcastle which insists in being younger than it actually is “Let me see; twenty added to twenty, makes just fifty and seven"; or the enumeration of jokes that Tony usually does. The most comical moment occurs when Mr. Hardcastle explains one of them that affects him personally, letting him without wig in from of a lady. “It was but yesterday he fastened my wig to the back of my chair, and when I went to make a bow, I popped my bald head in Mrs. Frizzle's face.” In fact, the whole conversation is a sucession of acids and ironic comments of Mr. Hardcastle agains the defenses that his wife does in favour of her son. In the second act there are also several comic moments and irony is also present, like when Tony advises Marlow and Hastings about their situation when they ask for help, “...the first thing I have to inform you is that-You have lost your way.”, or when Tony informs to Marlow that in crossroad he must to be sure to take only one of the paths. It is also comical to see how Hastings takes note of the indications that Tony gives him to reach Mr. Hardcastle's house, since the public knows that they are totally useless. Goldsmith prepares the comedy in this first act. I mean, he
Samuel Reinoso Uceda.
In this essay we are going to deal with the play “She Stoops to Conquer” (1773) by Oliver
Goldsmith, specifically with the first act, which is divided in two scenes.
The main objective of this essay is to gather as much information as possible about the play, and classify it according to MLA guidelines in the following topics: staging, characters, action, topic, genre, language and audience.. Besides, as the different points we are going to deal are described , it is possible to find comparisons about some aspects of this work with other ones; from both contemporary authors, such as Richard Brinsley Sheridan, playwright of comedies of …show more content…
The action starts with a conversation between Mr and Mrs Hardcastle, a old couple that live in a big country house with Tony Lumpkin, Mrs.Hardcastle's son with her former husband; their daughter Miss Hardcastle, also known as Kate; and their niece Miss Neville. All characters in this first scene belongs to a high social status, but one of them, Tony, prefers to band together with lower classes which are criticised by her step-father and her mother. Mr Hardcastle has an attitude more conservative than Mrs Hardcastle. I mean, he explains that prefers old things and also censure the pose of Tony. Although Mrs Hardcastle criticises his son too, she opts for a more protector approach. She tries to defend him even when he acts with indiference to everyone. Moreover, Kate is more sympathetic to his family than Tony. We notice that in the fact that she accepts dressing like her father wants during the evening, but also claims some independence in order to wear more fashionable clothes during the morning. The last character who lives in the house is Miss Neville, Kate's cousin. She has a good relation with her cousin, however, she feels a great rejection to Tony and is in love with Hastings. Despite this, Mrs Hardcastle believes that a future engagement between the his son and Miss Neville would be possible and tries to propitiate it, carried only by materialism. In the second …show more content…
There are several situations that may cause laughts in the audience. For example; the discussion between marriage Hardcastle about the age of Mrs.Hardcastle which insists in being younger than it actually is “Let me see; twenty added to twenty, makes just fifty and seven"; or the enumeration of jokes that Tony usually does. The most comical moment occurs when Mr. Hardcastle explains one of them that affects him personally, letting him without wig in from of a lady. “It was but yesterday he fastened my wig to the back of my chair, and when I went to make a bow, I popped my bald head in Mrs. Frizzle's face.” In fact, the whole conversation is a sucession of acids and ironic comments of Mr. Hardcastle agains the defenses that his wife does in favour of her son. In the second act there are also several comic moments and irony is also present, like when Tony advises Marlow and Hastings about their situation when they ask for help, “...the first thing I have to inform you is that-You have lost your way.”, or when Tony informs to Marlow that in crossroad he must to be sure to take only one of the paths. It is also comical to see how Hastings takes note of the indications that Tony gives him to reach Mr. Hardcastle's house, since the public knows that they are totally useless. Goldsmith prepares the comedy in this first act. I mean, he