The Dog Beneath the Skin (Masterplots II: Drama, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: W. H. Auden, Christopher William Bradshaw-Isherwood
- First Published: 1935
- Type of Plot: Satire
- Time of Work: The mid-1930’s
- Setting: Mythologized Europe
- Principal Characters: The Vicar of Pressan Ambo, General Hotham, Mrs. Hotham, Miss Iris Crewe, Sir Francis Crewe (the Dog), Alan Norman, First Journalist, Second Journalist
- Genres: Satire, Drama, Burlesque
- Subjects: Dogs, Europe or Europeans, Mistaken or secret identity, Class consciousness, 1930’s, War, Rulers, Missing persons, Fascism
- Locales: Europe
The Play
The Dog Beneath the Skin opens in the garden of the vicarage at Pressan Ambo; the setting resembles that of a prewar musical comedy. The villagers promenade with several of the principal characters—the Vicar, General Hotham, his wife, and Miss Iris Crewe—who introduce themselves in lilting verse.
The Vicar explains the fairy tale quest that is to serve as the main structure for the plot. He says that the patriarch of Pressan Ambo, Sir Bingham Crewe, has died, leaving behind two heirs: his son, Sir Francis Crewe, and his daughter, Miss Iris Crewe. Sir...
[The entire page is 2808 words long]
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