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The Drury-Lane Prologue
Paperback
Literary CriticismGeneral PoetryPlays
ISBN13: 9781025613048
Publisher: Tradd Street Press
Published: Feb 14 2026
Pages: 20
Weight: 0.10
Height: 0.04 Width: 6.14 Depth: 9.21
Language: English
The Drury-Lane Prologue is a celebrated poetic address by Samuel Johnson, one of the most influential figures in English literary history. Composed for the 1747 reopening of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, and originally delivered by the legendary actor David Garrick, this work remains a cornerstone of 18th-century verse and theatrical criticism. The poem serves as a grand survey of the English stage, tracing the evolution of drama from the heights of the Elizabethan era to the contemporary tastes of the Georgian public.
Through his masterful use of the heroic couplet, Johnson offers a sophisticated critique of the theater, lamenting the decline of high drama into trivial spectacle while celebrating the enduring legacy of writers like Shakespeare and Jonson. The Drury-Lane Prologue is more than a mere introduction to a season of plays; it is a manifesto on the moral and artistic responsibilities of the theater. Its historical significance lies in its reflection of the cultural shift toward Enlightenment values and its defense of literature as a tool for public edification. This work is an essential piece for scholars of neo-classical poetry and anyone interested in the rich heritage of the British theatrical tradition.
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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