She Stoops to Conquer | Prime Example of the Theatre Era From Which it Emerged
In this introduction to Goldsmith's play, Kronenberger proposes that She Stoops to Conquer is a prime example of the theatre era from which it emerged, as well as evidence of the playwright's disdain for Sentimental comedy. Kronenberger served as a drama critic for Time magazine from 1938 to 1961, and was regarded as an expert on eighteenth-century English literature and history.
Oliver Goldsmith stands quite high in English literature, and a little apart, by reason of his three-pronged claims to recognition. There is his extremely famous poem, The Deserted Village; his extremely famous novel, The Vicar of Wakefield; his extremely famous play, She Stoops to Conquer. To have achieved three unquestioned classics that jointly run to about the length of an average-sized book is a notable example of how to travel down the ages with the lightest of luggage.
But though all three remain unquestioned classics, they no longer—if we are...
[The entire page is 1604 words long]
Join eNotes
The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:
Summary and Analysis – Themes – Characters – And much more...
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
Tell a friend about She Stoops to Conquer at eNotes.
