Rehearsal, The

The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature | 2003 | 700+ words | Copyright

Rehearsal, The (printed 1672), a farcical comedy attributed to George Villiers, second duke of Buckingham, but probably written by him in collaboration with others, among whom is mentioned S. Butler.

The play satirizes the heroic tragedies of the day, and consists of a series of parodies of passages from these, strung together in an absurd heroic plot. The author of the mock play is evidently a laureate (hence his name ‘Bayes’), and D'Avenant was probably intended; but there are also hits at Dryden (particularly his Conquest of Granada) and his brothers-in-law, Edward and Robert Howard. Bayes takes two friends, Smith and Johnson, to see the rehearsal of his play, and the absurdity of this work, coupled with the comments of Bayes and his instructions to the actors, remains highly entertaining. Prince Pretty-man, Prince Volscius, and Drawcansir are among the characters. It was one of the earliest of English dramatic burlesques.

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MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Rehearsal, The." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Rehearsal, The." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-RehearsalThe.html

MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Rehearsal, The." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-RehearsalThe.html

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