The Recruiting Officer (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: George Farquhar
- First Published: 1706
- Type of Work: Play
- Type of Plot: Comedy
- Time of Work: Early eighteenth century
- Setting: Shrewsbury, England
- Genres: Drama, Comedy
- Subjects: Children, Marriage, England or English people, Eighteenth century, Fortune-telling or fortune-tellers, Inheritance or succession, Soldiers
- Locales: Shrewsbury, England
Characters Discussed
Captain Plume, a recruiting officer in the Queen’s army who goes into Shrewsbury to recruit for a French campaign. His chief endeavor, however, is winning Sylvia Balance for his wife. Blatant and ribald, he declares he will not marry, to spend his entire life with a woman, until he knows premaritally whether he will like her company for half an hour. Winning Sylvia after trickery against him has failed, he quits the service to raise recruits in a matrimonial way. His men’s conduct in the town is well described by the accusation that they leave as many...
[The entire page is 1165 words long]
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