The development of Richard Brome’s "A Joviall Crew"

602 Pages·027.684 MB·English

by  Crowther, John Wilkerson

THE DEVELOPMENT OP RICHARD EROME*S 4 JOVIALT. CREW,
TOGETHER WITH VARIORUM EDITIONS OE THE PLAY AND THE OPERA
A Dissertation
Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the
Louisiana State University and
Agricultural and Mechanical College
in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for-the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
in
The Department of English
by-
John Wilkerson Crowther, Jr.
Ph. B., Loyola University, 19^-2
M. A., Tulane University, 19^3
August, 1950
UMI Number: DP69376
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MANUSCRIPT THESES
Unpublished theses submitted for the master's and doctor's
degrees and deposited in the Louisiana State University Library
are available for inspection. Use of any thosis is limited by the
rights of the author. Bibliographical references may be noted, but
passages may not be copied unless the author has given permission.
Credit must be given in subsequent written or published work*
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re s tr ic ti ons •
LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY - LIBRARY
441
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ABSTRACT
This dissertation consists primarily of variorum editions
of Richard Brome,s comedy A Joviall Crew and of the ballad opera The
Jovial Crew. which is based on the play. The text of the first edition
of the play (1632) is followed by explanatory notes, together with
references to sources and parallels from other literature of the period*
After the notes come the textual variants of the seven succeeding
editions of the play (1661, 1684, 1708, 1744, 1780, 1826, 1929) and the
errata of the 1873 reprint of the first edition. Following the text of
the first edition of the opera (1731) are the variants of the six
succeeding editions ^1732, 1760, 1767, 1780, 1781, 1813)* As there is
one reprint of the 1780 edition of the play (1810), five reprints of
the 1760 edition of the opera (1760, 1761, 1761, 1764, 1766), and one
reprint of the 1767 edition (1774), a total of twenty-three texts have
been examined for this study. The title pages of the editions and re­
prints Gf the play and the opera, as well as versions of the lyrics
published separately from the opera, appear, along with Gharles Laiub,s
review of an 1319 performance, in the Appendix, in chronological order*
There are four introductory chapters. The first is devoted
to a study of the background and sources of the play, arid to a critical
analysis predicated on this material. The second chapter consists of
a discussion of the eight editions, and two reprints of editions, of
the play. The third chapter treats of the opera and its editions and
reprints of editions. A chronological account of the stage history of
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.At rf > >
V. •(
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both play and opera is given in the fourth chapter, wnicu includes
also & discussion of a one—act version of tii© opera and an after-
piece I The ladies1 Froiick J based on tne opera, neither oX which has
been printed.
All but three of the texts of the play (those of the 1/80
Dodsley and the 1929 Clipfaant editions arid the Pearson reprint of the
first edition J and one of the texts of the opera (that of the 1781
Bell editions wore studied on microfilm. The Folger Shakespeare
Library provided the microfilm of the texts of the 1652, 1661, 1684,
and 1708 editions of the play and the 1731, 1761, 1764, 1774, and
1780 texts of the opera. The Library of the British Museum furnished
the texts (reproduced by University iiierofilms, Arm Arbor, hichig&n)
of the three separate editions of “The Beggars Chorus,” the Book of
Songs (1731 j, the 1732, 1760, and 1767 editions of the opera, and the
1760 and 1766 reprints of the 1760 edition. The hidgw&y Branch of
tne Library Company of Philadelphia microfilmed the text of the l?6l
Cork, Ireland, reprint of the 1760 edition. The texts of the 1810
reprint of tne 1780 Lodsley edition of the play, the 1826 Lodsley, and
tne 1613 edition of the opera were secured irom the Harvard University
Library. These, together idtb the text of the 17h4 Dodsley edition of
the play, obtained f ro;i. the Johns Hopkins University Library, were
microfilmed at Louisiana State University •
The textual variants are contra:ted aud grouped as follows.
The texts of the 1661, 1684, and i?Q8 edit! cits of the play are con­
trasted directly with the 1652 text. The text of the 1714 editioii,
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based largely on that of 1708, la contrasted with the 1708 text as
well as with that of 1652. The text of the 1760 edition, based to a
considerable extent on that of 1744, is contrasted with the 1744 text
as well as with that of 1652* The text of the 1826 edition, however,
is contrasted only with that of 1760, on which it is based. The text
of the 1929 Cliphant edition is contrasted with the original 1652
edition. Of the opera editions, those of 1732, 1760, and 1780 are
contrasted with the original edition of 1731, on whicn they are based.
Those of 1767 and 1781, based on that of 1760, are contrasted with the
1760 edition as well as with the original* The 1813 text is contrasted
with that of 1781, on which it is largely based, as well as with the
original 1731 text.
In view of the provincial setting of the play and the use of
the beggars' cant, tne preparation of the notes to the play required
research into dictionaries of dialect and slang, and into political
a^a social histories of the period. Also necessary was tne culling of
details, in the form of references, parallels, and examples of word
usage, from dramatic and non-drastic works of the period. Through
this study more light has been thrown on the literary, linguistic, and
social history, not only of the era in which the play was written, but
also of the whole period of approximately 180 years during which either
the play or the opera was presented on the stage.
Xu the alterations of the play and the opera it is possible
to see not only the development in the spelling, punctuation, and
vocabulary of the language, but also the change in the spirit of the
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times, specifically, the cn&ag© from the period generally identified
as lliaabethau or dnakespearean, to the neo-classical period of the
eighteenth century, on into the romantic period ^1 th- early nineteenth
century, the spirit of which influences the last version of the opera.
The twenty—three t^xts of tne play and the opera are examples of
various types of editing which illustrate the history of the develop­
ment of xuiglish scholarship from the mid-seventeenth to the twentieth
century, host significant of all is the play itself and the study of
its development as a popular English comedy into one of the most
popular of iinglish ballad operas.
ACM*GWLj-DGfciO*T
The writer wishes to express his sincere appreciation to
Dr* John fiarle Uhler, the director of this dissertation* His kind
assistance in the way of critical comment ana advice, especially re­
garding the scope and limits of the work, has been invaluable* The
writer is grateful also to Dr. W* John Olive for helpful suggestions
and for his kindness in checking the variants, to Dr* Joan Chaffe
killer and Dr* H* ti* Caffee for other helpful suggestions, and es­
pecially to Dr* Thomas A* Airby for proofreading this lengthy work*
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER PACE
I. THE FLATS BACKGROUND, INFLUENCES, CRITICISM,
SOURCES 1
II. THE EDITIONS OF THE FLAT SS
III. THE OPERA AND ITS EDITIONS 42
IV. STAGE BISTORT S3
THE TEST OF THE FIRST EDITION OF THE FLAT
NOTES TO THE FLAT
VARIANTS OF THE LATER EDITIONS OF THE PLAT
THE TEXT OF THE FIRST EDITION OF THE OPERA
VARIANTS OF THE LATER EDITIONS OF THE OPERA
BIBLIOGRAPHY
APPENDIX, TOGETHER WITH ITS TABLE OF CONTENTS
IKTBODUCTIOfc
This dissertation is a study ol‘ liehard Broxne's comedy
A JqvIaII Crew (1652), and of the ballad opera The Jovial Crew into
which the play was converted in. 1731 • The texts of the first editions
of both the play and the opera are presented, together with explana­
tory notes and the textual variants of the succeediiig editions. 1&-
phaais is placed not only on the play and the opera themselves, but
also on their development as seen in the stage history of their
production and especially in the variants of the eight editions of the
play and the seven editions of the opera which have been published to
date. The dissertation thus becomes primarily a study of the editions
of the various texts. A critical study of the play and the opera is
presented, along with discussions of the various editions and reprints
of editions, in the four introductory chapters.
In the prepar&tioxi of the first chapter, concerned with the
background, criticism, and sources of ti.e play, the earlier non-
dramatic beggar literature served for the understanding of the beggar
scenes and especially the beggars1 cant. The study of the several
plays of the period dealing with beggars and Gipsies uncovered some
probable source material. The obvious influence of Ben Jonson
necessitated the study of his works for sources and models. The
pastoral, lyric, and romantic elements led tc the study of romantic
drama, specifically Beaumont and Fletcher, as well as earlier popular
ballad and lyric verse. Biace the play is the last of Brome's fifteen
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