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Droll
Droll, short comic sketch, usually a scene taken from a longer play. It originated in London during the Puritan Interregnum (1642–60), when the actors, forbidden to act, nevertheless managed to provide a modicum of entertainment. For their illicit purposes they invented the ‘droll’—short for Droll Humours or Drolleries—rounding it off with a jig. Some of the most famous drolls are taken from Shakespeare—‘Bottom the Weaver’ from A Midsummer Night's Dream and ‘The Gravemakers’ from Hamlet. Others were from biblical sources. Droll was also the name applied to early puppet-shows, and to collections of humorous or satiric verse, as in Westminster Drolleries (1672). It was sometimes used to designate actors, particularly players of humorous parts, and men of quick wit and good company: Pepys uses it in this sense of Killigrew. In the late 19th century it was applied to such comediennes as Louie Freear (1871–1939), who was equally successful in minstrel shows, music-halls, musical comedy, and Shakespeare.
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Cite this article
PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Droll." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Droll." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-Droll.html PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Droll." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-Droll.html |
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droll
droll XVII. — F. drôle, earlier †drolle (uncertainly rel. to MDu. drolle little chap).
So droll sb. waggish fellow; †farce, puppet-show; †jesting, burlesque. XVII. perh. — MDu. droll vb. make fun (of). XVII. — F. †drōler, drollery †puppet show, comic picture XVI; waggery XVII. — F. drōlerie. |
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T. F. HOAD. "droll." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "droll." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-droll.html T. F. HOAD. "droll." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-droll.html |
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droll
droll / drōl/ • adj. curious or unusual in a way that provokes dry amusement: his unique brand of droll self-mockery. • n. archaic a jester or entertainer; a buffoon. DERIVATIVES: droll·er·y / ˈdrōlərē/ n. droll·ness n. drol·ly adv. |
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"droll." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "droll." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-droll.html "droll." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-droll.html |
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droll
droll
•barcarole, bole, bowl, cajole, coal, Cole, condole, console, control, dhole, dole, droll, enrol (US enroll), extol, foal, goal, hole, Joel, knoll, kohl, mol, mole, Nicole, parol, parole, patrol, pole, poll, prole, rôle, roll, scroll, Seoul, shoal, skoal, sole, soul, stole, stroll, thole, Tirol, toad-in-the-hole, toll, troll, vole, whole
•Creole
•carriole, dariole
•cabriole • capriole
•aureole, gloriole, oriole
•wassail-bowl • fishbowl • dustbowl
•punchbowl • rocambole • farandole
•girandole • manhole • rathole
•armhole • arsehole • hellhole
•keyhole, kneehole
•peephole
•sinkhole • pinhole • cubbyhole
•hidey-hole • pigeonhole
•eyehole, spyhole
•foxhole
•knothole, pothole
•borehole, Warhol
•porthole • soundhole • blowhole
•stokehole • bolthole • loophole
•lughole, plughole
•chuckhole • buttonhole • bunghole
•earhole • waterhole • wormhole
•charcoal • caracole • Seminole
•pinole
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Cite this article
"droll." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "droll." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-droll.html "droll." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-droll.html |
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