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66-478: James Sheridan Knowles (12 May 1784 – 30 November 1862) was an Irish dramatist and actor . A relative of Richard Brinsley Sheridan , Knowles enjoyed success writing plays for the leading West End theatres . Later in his career he also produced several novels. Knowles was born in Cork . His father was the lexicographer James Knowles , cousin of Richard Brinsley Sheridan . The family moved to London in 1793, and at

132-482: A murder mystery play which is the longest-running West End show , it has by far the longest run of any play in the world, with its 29,500th performance having taken place as of February 2024. Contemporary playwrights in the United States are affected by recent declines in theatre attendance. No longer the only outlet for serious drama or entertaining comedies, theatrical productions must use ticket sales as

198-654: A Baptist preacher attracted large audiences at Exeter Hall and elsewhere. He published two polemical works: the Rock of Rome and the Idol Demolished by Its Own Priests in both of which he combated the special doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church . Knowles was for some years in the receipt of an annual pension of £200, bestowed by Sir Robert Peel in 1849. In old age he befriended the young Edmund Gosse , whom he introduced to Shakespeare. Knowles makes

264-487: A form of fictional character was born named the " Byronic hero ", who is known to be rebellious in character. The Byronic hero "pervades much of his work" and Byron is considered a reflection of the character he created. Greek and Roman mythology was prevalent in the works of British Romantic poets including Byron, Keats and Shelley . However, there were poets who rejected the notion of mythological inspiration, including Coleridge, who preferred to take inspiration from

330-512: A form of playwright. Outside of the Western world there is Indian classical drama , with one of the oldest known playwrights being Śudraka , whose attributed plays can be dated to the second century BC. The Nāṭya Shāstra , a text on the performing arts from between 500BC-500AD, categorizes playwrights as being among the members of a theatre company, although playwrights were generally the highest in social status, with some being kings. In

396-444: A group of metaphysic literary figures, metaphysical referring to a branch of philosophy which tries to bring meaning to and explain reality using broader and larger concepts. In order to do this, the use of literary features including conceits was common, in which the writer makes obscure comparisons in order to convey a message or persuade a point. The term metaphysics was coined by poet John Dryden , and during 1779 its meaning

462-585: A happy appearance in Gosse's Father and Son . He died at Torquay on 30 November 1862. He is buried under a huge tomb at the summit of the Glasgow Necropolis . A full list of the works of Knowles and of the various notices of him will be found in The Life of James Sheridan Knowles (1872), privately printed by his son, Richard Brinsley Knowles (1820–1882), who was well known as a journalist. It

528-485: A more simplistic vernacular compared to the common Petrarchan diction, with imagery derived mainly from God. Donne was known for the metaphysical conceits integrated in his poetry. He used themes of religion, death and love to inspire the conceits he constructed. A famous conceit is observed in his well-known poem " The Flea " in which the flea is utilised to describe the bond between Donne and his lover, explaining how just as multiple bloods are within one flea, their bond

594-475: A new genre of literature in 18th-century France of books of conduct for girls and unmarried women. Pieces by authors including Marie-Antoinette Lenoir, Louise d'Épinay and Anne-Thérèse de Lambert all shared the same role of shaping young French women to lead successful and progressive lives. However, this form of education for women during the 18th century has been observed to be more oppressive than empowering. The War of Spanish Succession (1701–1714) led to

660-553: A pejorative sense by Ben Jonson to suggest a mere tradesman fashioning works for the theatre. Jonson uses the word in his Epigram 49, which is thought to refer to John Marston or Thomas Dekker : Jonson described himself as a poet, not a playwright, since plays during that time were written in meter and so were regarded as the province of poets. This view was held as late as the early 19th century. The term "playwright" later again lost this negative connotation. The earliest playwrights in Western literature with surviving works are

726-604: A period known as the Enlightenment Era for many western countries. This period of military and political advancement influenced the style of literature created by French, Russian and Spanish literary figures. The 19th century was known as the Romantic era, in which the style of writing was influenced by the political issues of the century, and differed from the previous classicist form. Western literature includes written works in many languages: Early modern England

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792-654: A playwright, winning awards for his play The Phoenix at both the New York International Fringe Festival in 1999 and the Route 66 American Playwriting Competition in 2000. Today, theatre companies have new play development programs meant to develop new American voices in playwriting. Many regional theatres have hired dramaturges and literary managers in an effort to showcase various festivals for new work, or bring in playwrights for residencies. Funding through national organizations, such as

858-525: A source of income, which has caused many of them to reduce the number of new works being produced. For example, Playwrights Horizons produced only six plays in the 2002–03 seasons, compared with thirty-one in 1973–74. Playwrights commonly encounter difficulties in getting their shows produced and often cannot earn a living through their plays alone, leading them to take up other jobs to supplement their incomes. Many playwrights are also film makers . For instance, filmmaker Morgan Spurlock began his career as

924-562: A stricter interpretation of Aristotle, as this long-lost work came to light in the late 15th century. The neoclassical ideal, which was to reach its apogee in France during the 17th century, dwelled upon the unities , of action, place, and time. This meant that the playwright had to construct the play so that its "virtual" time would not exceed 24 hours, that it would be restricted to a single setting, and that there would be no subplots. Other terms, such as verisimilitude and decorum, circumscribed

990-558: A successful play in which Edmund Kean appeared; another play, Brian Boroihme , written for the Belfast Theatre in the next year, attracted crowds; nevertheless, Knowles's earnings were so small that he was obliged to become assistant to his father at the Belfast Academical Institution . In 1817 he moved from Belfast to Glasgow , where, besides keeping a flourishing school, he continued to write for

1056-458: A time "when Britain was struggling to prove the value of its own visual culture". The art gave inspiration and "shaped the aesthetic" of Romantic literature for writers including the likes of author Mary Shelley . The diversity and lack of standard seen in the work of infamous Italian artists including Michelangelo and Raphael allowed Romantic writers to celebrate new forms and ways of expression. English essayist William Hazlitt articulated how

1122-632: Is Hans Sachs (1494–1576) who wrote 198 dramatic works. In England, The Second Shepherds' Play of the Wakefield Cycle is the best known early farce. However, farce did not appear independently in England until the 16th century with the work of John Heywood (1497–1580). Playwright William Shakespeare remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted. Most playwrights of

1188-438: Is an archaic English term for a craftsperson or builder (as in a wheelwright or cartwright ). The words combine to indicate a person who has "wrought" words, themes, and other elements into a dramatic form—a play. (The homophone with "write" is coincidental.) The first recorded use of the term "playwright" is from 1605, 73 years before the first written record of the term "dramatist". It appears to have been first used in

1254-404: Is inseparable. The Enlightenment era was a time of progression which spanned over the 18th century across many western countries. Upon recent years, this time of "enlightenment" was split into two degrees of progression, both a "moderate" and "radical" form, and was observed to be less harmonious across regions in its nature than previously thought. Literature has been produced to comment on

1320-542: Is still useful to playwrights today is the " French scene ", which is a scene in a play where the beginning and end are marked by a change in the makeup of the group of characters onstage rather than by the lights going up or down or the set being changed. Notable playwrights: Greek theater was alive and flourishing on the island of Crete. During the Cretan Renaissance two notable Greek playwrights Georgios Chortatzis and Vitsentzos Kornaros were present in

1386-474: Is the literature written in the context of Western culture in the languages of Europe , and is shaped by the periods in which they were conceived, with each period containing prominent western authors, poets, and pieces of literature. The best of Western literature is considered to be the Western canon . The list of works in the Western canon varies according to the critic's opinions on Western culture and

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1452-623: The Lyrical Ballads is claimed to have "marked the beginning of the Romantic Movement". There was known to be two waves of British Romantic authors; Coleridge and Wordsworth were grouped into the first wave, while a more radical and "aggressive" second wave of authors included the likes of George Gordon Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley . Due to the adamant aggression of Byron in his poetic works which advocated for an anti-violence revolution and world in which equality existed,

1518-469: The Ancient Greeks . These early plays were for annual Athenian competitions among play writers held around the 5th century BC. Such notables as Aeschylus , Sophocles , Euripides , and Aristophanes established forms still relied on by their modern counterparts. We have complete texts extant by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides . The origins of Athenian tragedy remain obscure, though by

1584-468: The Bible to produce significantly religious-inspired works. British 19th-century Romanticism developed literature which focused on the "self-organisation of living beings, their growth and adaption into their environments and the creative spark that inspired the physical system to perform complex functions". There are observed close ties between medicine , a concept which was experiencing innovation during

1650-624: The National Endowment for the Arts and the Theatre Communications Group , encouraged the partnerships of professional theatre companies and emerging playwrights. Playwrights will often have a cold reading of a script in an informal sitdown setting, which allows them to evaluate their own plays and the actors performing them. Cold reading means that the actors haven't rehearsed the work, or may be seeing it for

1716-652: The Semanario de Salamanca and the Diario de Madrid  [ es ] . Numerous women who contributed to the Spanish Enlightenment period include poet Margarita Hickey , author Frasquita Larrea , and poet María Gertrudis Hore . During the 18th century, Russia was experiencing expansions in military and geographical control, a key facet of the Enlightenment period. This is reflected in

1782-714: The Spenserian stanza ; the sonnet , which is a form of poem easily distinguishable by its fourteen-line form with a structured rhyme format; and the pastoral mode, a genre of literature which is significantly attributed to English poet Edmund Spenser , who created collections of poetry which portrays an idealistic version of rural living. Spenser has been "dubbed 'the English Virgil '" due to his influence on this particular genre. Significant texts from 16th-century early modern England were primarily religious in context and include: The Spanish Golden Age spanned over

1848-591: The neoclassical movement of the 18th century through drama and poetic forms of literature. Only until the 20th century, however, was the Spanish Enlightenment period properly acknowledged by scholars, with past research regarding the Spanish Enlightenment period as a "time of foreign imitation". The Spanish Enlightenment held impact on women in Spain, with more women publishing literature, becoming members as well as subscribers to publications including

1914-430: The 17th century was the use of metaphysical conceits , in which the poet uses "unorthodox language" to describe a relatable concept. It is beneficial when trying to bring light to concepts that are difficult to explain with more common imagery. John Donne was a prominent metaphysical poet of the 17th century. Donne's poetry explored the pleasures of life through strong use of conceits and emotive language. Donne adopted

1980-532: The 19th century, and Romantic English literature. British Romanticism also had influences from 13th-/16th-century Italian art as a consequence of British artists who resided in Italy during the time of Bonaparte's invasion dealing paintings to London clients from medieval to the High Renaissance Italian periods. The exposure to these artworks influenced British literature and culture during

2046-449: The 4th century BCE, Aristotle wrote his Poetics , in which he analyzed the principle of action or praxis as the basis for tragedy. He then considered elements of drama: plot ( μύθος mythos ), character ( ἔθος ethos ), thought ( dianoia ), diction ( lexis ), music ( melodia ), and spectacle ( opsis ). Since the myths on which Greek tragedy were based were widely known, plot had to do with

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2112-543: The 5th century it was institutionalised in competitions ( agon ) held as part of festivities celebrating Dionysos (the god of wine and fertility ). As contestants in the City Dionysia's competition (the most prestigious of the festivals to stage drama), playwrights were required to present a tetralogy of plays (though the individual works were not necessarily connected by story or theme), which usually consisted of three tragedies and one satyr play. For

2178-880: The French control over Spain. This influenced their cultural identity and, therefore, the Enlightenment period held an impact on Spanish literature in the 18th century. The court of Madrid during the 18th century saw an increase in influence from the French and the Italian, with literary influences derived increasingly from authors during the English Enlightenment period. English authors who are stated to hold influence on Spanish "Ilustrados" include John Locke , Edmund Burke , Edward Young and Thomas Hobbes . New takes on literature began to emerge during this time, led by poets including Ignacio de Luzán Claramunt and Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos , who contributed greatly to

2244-561: The Middle Ages, the earliest of which is The Play of the Greenwood by Adam de la Halle in 1276. It contains satirical scenes and folk material such as faeries and other supernatural occurrences. Farces also rose dramatically in popularity after the 13th century. The majority of these plays come from France and Germany and are similar in tone and form, emphasizing sex and bodily excretions. The best known playwright of farces

2310-611: The Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 and the end of the 17th century, classical ideas were in vogue. As a result, critics of the time mostly rated Shakespeare below John Fletcher and Ben Jonson. This period saw the first professional woman playwright, Aphra Behn . As a reaction to the decadence of Charles II era productions, sentimental comedy grew in popularity. Playwrights like Colley Cibber and Richard Steele believed that humans were inherently good but capable of being led astray. The Italian Renaissance brought about

2376-534: The age of fourteen Knowles published a ballad entitled The Welsh Harper , which, set to music, was very popular. His talents secured him the friendship of William Hazlitt , who introduced him to Charles Lamb and Samuel Taylor Coleridge . He served for some time in the Wiltshire and afterwards in the Tower Hamlets militia, leaving the service to become a pupil of Dr Robert Willan (1757–1812). He obtained

2442-420: The ancient Greeks, playwriting involved poïesis , "the act of making". This is the source of the English word poet . Despite Chinese Theatre having performers dated back to the 6th century BC with You Meng , their perspective of theatre was such that plays had no other role than "performer" or "actor", but given that the performers were also the ones who invented their performances, they could be considered

2508-404: The arrangement and selection of existing material. Character was determined by choice and by action. Tragedy is mimesis —"the imitation of an action that is serious". He developed his notion of hamartia , or tragic flaw, an error in judgment by the main character or protagonist , which provides the basis for the "conflict-driven" play. There were also a number of secular performances staged in

2574-468: The author, Spinoza , rejected the Jewish and Christian religions for their lack of depth in teaching. Spinoza discussed higher levels of philosophy in his treatise, which he suggested was only understood by elitists. This text is one of many during this period which attributed to the increasing "anti-religious" support during the time of Enlightenment. Although the book held great influence, other writers of

2640-440: The authors who considered themselves Romantics only created two-dimensional imitations of the works of German Romantic authors. The poetry of the Romantic era of Italy was focused greatly on the motif of nature. Romantic poets drew inspiration from ancient Greek and Latin poetry and mythology , while poets of this time period also sought to create a sense of unity within the country with their writings. Political disunity

2706-444: The course of the 16th century and was a time of development and acceleration in the arts and literature in Spain. This acceleration of poetry , drama and prose forms of literature was partly due to the increase in contact that Spain gained to other European nations including Italy. During this time, a prominent Spanish poet arose named Garcilaso de la Vega . He utilised literary devices seen in foreign nations within his work, and

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2772-609: The degree of M.D., and was appointed vaccinator to the Jennerian Society . Although Dr Willan offered him a share in his practice, Knowles decided to give up medicine for the stage, making his first appearance as an actor probably at Bath, and played Hamlet at Crow Street Theatre , Dublin. At Wexford he married, in October 1809, Maria Charteris, an actress from the Edinburgh Theatre. In 1810 he wrote Leo ,

2838-428: The development of 19th-century British Romanticism . These revolutions birthed a new genre of authors and poets who used their literature to convey their distaste for authority. This is seen in the works of poet and artist William Blake , who used primarily philosophical and biblical themes in his poetry, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth , also known as the " Lake Poets ", whose literature including

2904-637: The different versions of "Enlightenment" that spawned across Europe during the 18th century. Henry Farnham stated in his book The Enlightenment in America that the "Moderate Enlightenment […] preaches balance, order and religious compromise", whereas the "Revolutionary Enlightenment" attempted to "construct a new heaven and earth out of the destruction of the old". Significant texts which shaped this literary period include Tractatus Theologico-Politicus , an anonymously published treatise in Amsterdam in which

2970-479: The early modern era , had a distinct Biblical influence which only began to be rejected during the Enlightenment period of the 18th century. European poetry during the 17th century tended to meditate on or reference the scriptures and teachings of the Bible , an example being orator George Herbert 's "The Holy Scriptures (II)", in which Herbert relies heavily on biblical ligatures to create his sonnets . The Jacobean period of 17th-century England gave birth to

3036-532: The first time, and usually, the technical requirements are minimal. The O'Neill Festival offers summer retreats for young playwrights to develop their work with directors and actors. Playwriting collectives like 13P and Orbiter 3 gather members together to produce, rather than develop, new works. The idea of the playwriting collective is in response to plays being stuck in the development process and never advancing to production. Western literature Western literature , also known as European literature ,

3102-490: The latter part of the 16th century. The plays of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing , Johann Wolfgang von Goethe , Friedrich Schiller , and other Sturm und Drang playwrights inspired a growing faith in feeling and instinct as guides to moral behavior and were part of the German romanticism movement. Aleksandr Ostrovsky was Russia's first professional playwright). Author and playwright Agatha Christie wrote The Moustrap ,

3168-462: The literature of the time period. Satire and the panegyric had influenced the development of Russian literature as seen in the Russian literary figures of the time including Feofan Prokopovich , Kantemir, Derzhavin and Karamzin . Spanish literature of the 18th century, apart from being influenced by the Enlightenment period, was influenced by the literary concept of the " sublime ". The "sublime"

3234-407: The period typically collaborated with others at some point, as critics agree Shakespeare did, mostly early and late in his career. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. In England, after the interregnum , and Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, there was a move toward neoclassical dramaturgy. Between

3300-419: The reader into the mind of the speaker. The Romantic era for literature was at its pinnacle during the 19th century and was a period which influenced western literature. Italian writers of the 19th century, including the likes of Leopardi and Alessandro Manzoni , detested being grouped into a "category" of writing. Therefore, Italy was home to many isolated literary figures, with no unambiguous meaning for

3366-504: The rejection of the Pope and moving away from Roman Catholic Church. Amongst these were the most significant John Donne , George Herbert and Thomas Traherne , and constituted a group of poets known as "revelatory poetics". The narrative which grew more prominent in English literature due to this movement towards Johannine theology incorporated an increase of spiritual themes, with "supernatural forces" and an "enchantment narrative" guiding

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3432-419: The relative importance of its defining characteristics. Different literary periods held great influence on the literature of Western and European countries, with movements and political changes impacting the prose and poetry of the period. The 16th Century is known for the creation of Renaissance literature, while the 17th century was influenced by both Baroque and Jacobean forms. The 18th century progressed into

3498-534: The sense of "national redemption" is reflected heavily in the works of Italian Romantics, including Ugo Foscolo , who wrote the story The Last Letters of Jacopo Ortis , in which a man was forced to commit suicide due to the political persecutions of his country. Historical events including the European Revolution , within which the French revolution is claimed to be most significant, contributed to

3564-478: The stage. His first important success was Caius Gracchus , produced at the Belfast Theatre in 1815; and his Virginius , written for William Charles Macready , was first performed in 1820 at Covent Garden. In William Tell (1825), Knowles wrote for Macready one of his favourite parts. His best-known play, The Hunchback , was produced at Covent Garden in 1832, and Knowles won praise acting in

3630-505: The subject matter significantly. For example, verisimilitude limits of the unities. Decorum fitted proper protocols for behavior and language on stage. In France, contained too many events and actions, thus, violating the 24-hour restriction of the unity of time. Neoclassicism never had as much traction in England, and Shakespeare 's plays are directly opposed to these models, while in Italy, improvised and bawdy commedia dell'arte and opera were more popular forms. One structural unit that

3696-692: The term "Romanticism" itself. This was explained in the writings of Pietro Borsieri, in which he depicted the term Romanticism as being a literary movement that was self-defined by the writers. Contrastingly, it was noted by writers of the time, including Giuseppe Acerbi , how Italian Romantics were merely mimicking the trends seen in foreign nations in a hasty way which lacked the depth of foreign writers. Authors including Ludovico di Breme , Ermes Visconti  [ it ] and Giovanni Berchet did classify themselves as Romantics, however they were critiqued by others, including Gina Martegiani, who wrote in her essay "Il Romanticismo Italiano Non Esiste" of 1908 that

3762-411: The time rejected Spinoza's views, including theologian Lambert van Valthuysen. The time of enlightenment and advancement meant that both sacred and secular authors were pushing women to be at a higher level of literary knowledgeability. France was attempting to improve the education of young women and therefore have this be seen as a reflection of the advancement of society. This led to the emergence of

3828-525: The time. Author Paul Cefalu claims this form of "high Christology" was seen in the writings of John Donne, when he states that the "Gospel of Saint John containes all Divinity". However, it is argued by author P. M. Oliver that the theology which was indoctrinated in the poetry of revelatory poets including John Donne was expanded on and created by the poets themselves. Prominent forms of literature which shaped and contributed to this era of Reformation include significantly structured prose and poetry, including

3894-416: The work as Master Walter. The Wife was brought out at the same theatre in 1833; The Daughter better known as The Wrecker's Daughter, in 1836, and The Love Chase in 1837. His 1839 play Love was praised by Mary Shelley for its "inspiring situations founded on sentiment and passion". His second wife was the actress Emma Knowles . In his later years he forsook the stage for the pulpit, and as

3960-527: The writings of the time. Johannine theology focused on the "divine" nature of Christ and disregards the materialistic and human aspect acknowledged in Catholic texts. It has been argued that the writings of Saint John the Evangelist, which was considered an integral part of Johannine theology, coincided with Pauline theology during the early modern era to hold influence over the English literature of

4026-571: Was able to, therefore, replace the stanza forms originally used in Spain with Italian meters and stanza forms. The poet was influenced by Petrarchan imagery and the works of Virgil , and was used as inspiration by subsequent poets of the time. Garcilaso integrated a variety of mythological allusions into his works, in which he took inspiration from the Italian Renaissance of the mid-16th century. Prose and poetic literature within western regions, most prominently in England during

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4092-510: Was extended to represent a group of poets of the time, then called " metaphysical poets ". Major poets of the time included John Donne , Andrew Marvell and George Herbert . These poets used wit and high intellectual standards while drawing from nature to reveal insights about emotion and rejected the romantic attributes of the Elizabethan period to birth a more analytical and introspective form of writing. A common literary device during

4158-544: Was prevalent in 19th-century Italy, reflected in the Risorgimento . After the Neapolitan Revolution of 1799, the term "Risorgimento" was used in the context of a movement of "national redemption" as stated by Antonio Gramsci . The one facet which held Italy together during this time of political disunity was the poetry and writings of the time period, as suggested by Berchet. The desire for freedom and

4224-414: Was the linkage between Spanish Neoclassical poetry and Romantic poetry prevalent during the 18th century, and was a concept of literary, rhetorical and philosophical value. Longinus described the literary devices that the sublime creates as those that allowed the reader to experience something similar to the speaker. He had created a style of language that was not used to persuade, but merely to transport

4290-524: Was the time of reformation, in which a " Protestant aesthetic" was developed, while the Church of England attempted to separate their notoriety with the Pope and move away from the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church . Johannine literature, being "hymnic, densely troped and symbolic, structured, inspired", became the inspiration for many poets of the period. A group of poets bloomed from this reformation,

4356-422: Was translated into German. Dramatist The earliest playwrights in Western literature with surviving works are the Ancient Greeks . William Shakespeare is amongst the most famous playwrights in literature, both in England and across the world. The word "play" is from Middle English pleye , from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word wright

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