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Knowles, James Sheridan
Knowles, James Sheridan (1784–1862), Irish-born playwright, a cousin of R. B. Sheridan and a close friend of Coleridge, Hazlitt, and Charles Lamb. In 1808 he was a member of the Crow Street Theatre in Dublin, where he proved himself a passable actor and also wrote a melodrama, Leo; or, The Gypsy (1810), for Edmund Kean, who was a member of the company. He later offered Kean Virginius; or, The Liberation of Rome (1820), but it was refused. Macready accepted it and played it with great success at Covent Garden. Knowles's most popular play was The Hunchback (1832), whose heroine Julia, first played by Fanny Kemble, was a favourite part with many young actresses. He himself appeared in the play after many years off the stage, playing Master Walter, the part in which he made his first appearance in New York in 1834. Knowles wrote his tragedies on classical subjects in the light of 19th-century domesticity, and was more concerned with the emotions of his characters than with their actions. None of his works has survived on the stage.
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PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Knowles, James Sheridan." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Knowles, James Sheridan." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-KnowlesJamesSheridan.html PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Knowles, James Sheridan." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-KnowlesJamesSheridan.html |
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Knowles,(james) Sheridan
Knowles,[james] Sheridan (1784–1862), actor and playwright. The Irish performer failed to impress Americans when he arrived in 1834, but that in no way diminished the opinion of many of his contemporaries that he was the greatest dramatist of his day. Such plays as William Tell and The Wife were in the American repertory for many years, but it was another pair of dramas that capped his reputation: Virginius (1820) and The Hunchback (1832), both of which held the stage for the rest of the century and served as vehicles for many of the greatest American actors and actresses.
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Cite this article
Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Knowles,(james) Sheridan." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Knowles,(james) Sheridan." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-KnowlesjamesSheridan.html Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Knowles,(james) Sheridan." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-KnowlesjamesSheridan.html |
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Knowles, James Sheridan
Knowles, James Sheridan (1784–1862), dramatist. His Virginius was produced at Covent Garden with C. Kemble and Macready in 1820; Caius Gracchus in 1823 (1815, Belfast); William Tell in 1825. His greatest success was The Hunchback, produced in 1832. The Wife, with Prologue and Epilogue by Lamb, followed in 1833, and in 1837 The Love Chase. His friend Hazlitt described Knowles as ‘the first tragic writer of his time’, and he was the recipient of many of the letters in Hazlitt's Liber Amoris.
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Cite this article
MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Knowles, James Sheridan." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Knowles, James Sheridan." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-KnowlesJamesSheridan.html MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Knowles, James Sheridan." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-KnowlesJamesSheridan.html |
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James Sheridan Knowles
James Sheridan Knowles , 1784–1862, Anglo-Irish dramatist; cousin of Richard Brinsley Sheridan . Although he was one of the leading playwrights of his time, his works are seldom produced today. His chief plays, which are noted for their professional, workmanlike construction, include the tragedies Virginius (1820) and William Tell (1825) and the comedies The Hunchback (1832) and The Beggar of Bethnal Green (1834). In 1845, Knowles became a Baptist minister. |
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Cite this article
"James Sheridan Knowles." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "James Sheridan Knowles." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-KnowlesJS.html "James Sheridan Knowles." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-KnowlesJS.html |
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