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The Drama of Sensibility
Paperback
ISBN13: 9781025618173
Publisher: Tradd Street Press
Published: Feb 14 2026
Pages: 304
Weight: 0.94
Height: 0.64 Width: 6.14 Depth: 9.21
Language: English
The Drama of Sensibility provides a comprehensive and influential examination of the rise of sentimental comedy and domestic tragedy within the context of eighteenth-century English literature. Ernest Bernbaum traces the shift in dramatic tastes from the cynical wit of the Restoration to the moralizing and emotive themes that came to define the Age of Sensibility. The work meticulously analyzes the ideological foundations of these genres, exploring how they reflected changing social attitudes toward virtue, emotion, and human nature.
Through detailed critiques of key plays and playwrights, the book illustrates the evolution of a theatrical movement that sought to evoke the tears of sensibility from its audience. Bernbaum contrasts the drama of sensibility with the traditional classical and neoclassical standards, highlighting how this new form pioneered the depiction of middle-class life and domestic morality on the stage. This scholarly study remains an essential resource for students and researchers of English drama, offering profound insights into the literary and cultural forces that reshaped the theater during one of its most transformative eras.
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you may see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.
This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.
As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
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