The Drama

Irving, Henry, Sir, 1838-1905Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 163K words
Chapters: 17

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Drama by Sir Henry IrvingAuthor: Irving, Henry, Sir, 1838-1905,Language: English, Class: PN: Language and Literatures: Literature: General, Criticism, Collections, Release Date: Sep 17, 2004

Editor's review

This is Sir Henry Irving's discussion of the drama, a public-domain e-book released by Project Gutenberg. Speaking as a practitioner of the stage, Irving addresses the art of drama, touching on acting, the theatre, and the social role of drama, and the text carries the atmosphere of the late nineteenth-century British stage. Readers interested in theatre history and performance theory can see how a leading actor understood his profession and the art of the stage; his discussion combines personal experience with the ideas of his time and serves as supporting material for the study of Victorian theatrical culture. The book is in the original English and is short, making it suitable as supplementary reading for a drama-themed course. Readers may understand his views in light of the British theatrical environment in which Irving worked, taking care to distinguish personal experience from universal claims. Because the book was written long ago, some ideas bear the limitations of their era and are best viewed historically.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in British theatre history and nineteenth-century theatrical culture
Readers studying acting or drama theory who wish to understand an actor's perspective
Readers able to read English who prefer short, topic-focused essays
Scholars researching Victorian ideas of performance and the theatrical ecosystem

Not a good fit for

Beginners expecting a systematic drama textbook or practical guide
Readers who have difficulty reading English and need a Chinese translation
Readers who want only plots or play scripts themselves

Reading tips

First learn the basic position of Henry Irving in the British theatre, then read the main text
Understand the book's views in the context of the late nineteenth-century theatre rather than applying them directly
Read alongside contemporary drama criticism or chapters of theatre history
After reading, summarize the author's core claims about acting and the function of the theatre

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a play or a discussion?

This book is Henry Irving's discussion of the drama, not a play. It focuses on his views on the art of the stage, acting, and the theatre, and is suitable as reference reading on theatre history and ideas of performance.

Do I need a drama background to read it?

Not necessarily. Basic English reading ability is enough to enter the text. Some knowledge of theatre history makes it easier to understand the era in which the views were formed; readers without that background can also read it as an actor's account of his times.

Are the book's views still applicable today?

Many of the views bear the mark of the late nineteenth-century British theatre and should not be taken directly as contemporary performance standards. The more valuable approach is to understand historically how a leading actor understood the drama and to compare it with today's theatrical practice.

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About the author

Irving, Henry, Sir, 1838-1905 Author · British · 1838–1905

Sir Henry Irving (Irving, Henry, Sir, 1838–1905) was a British actor and theatre manager, best known for his performances in Shakespearean tragic roles. Public information on the details of his life is limited; his reputation rests chiefly on his stage performances and on his influence in shaping the way theatre was presented in Britain. One work by him is held in this collection, The Drama, which, judging from its title and the author's identity, is a discursive piece on dramatic art, stage performance and the relationship between performers and audiences, reflecting the thinking of a long-time practitioner on the nature and techniques of drama. Writing on theatre by an actor tends to draw on first-hand experience, and such texts are of value for understanding the nineteenth-century British stage and its ideas of performance.