George Lillo
Encyclopedia
George Lillo was an English playwright
and tragedian. He was a jeweler in London as well as a dramatist. He produced his first stage work, Silvia, or The Country Burial, in 1730. A year later, he produced his most famous play, The London Merchant
. He wrote at least six more plays before his death in 1739, including The Christian Hero (1735), Fatal Curiosity (1737) and Marina (1738).
Silvia, or The Country Burial in 1730. He wrote it in order to reproduce the success of John Gay
’s The Beggar’s Opera, but Lillo's play received mixed reviews and only showed for three nights.
The following year, Lillo wrote his most famous play, The London Merchant
, or The History of George Barnwell (1731), which is considered one of the most popular and frequently produced plays of the 18th century. It was what might now be called a melodrama
and set Augustan drama
into a more melodramatic course. Lillo wished to create a new genre of play, the "domestic tragedy
" (or bourgeois tragedy
). Instead of dealing with heroes from classical literature or the Bible, presented with spectacle and grand stage effects, his subjects concerned everyday people, such as his audience, the theater-going middle classes, and his tragedies were conducted on the intimate scale of households, rather than kingdoms. Even though the Jacobean stage had flirted with merchant and artisan plays in the past (with, for example, Thomas Dekker and Thomas Heywood
), this was a significant change in theatre, and in tragedy in particular.
In The London Merchant, the subject is an apprentice who must struggle with his conscience. He makes an imprudent choice and repents of his vice to attain only the hand of a worthy girl. Lillo redefined the subject of dramatic tragedy and demonstrated that middle and lower class citizens were worthy of tragic downfalls. The 17th century ballad about a murder in Shropshire was the historical foundation for the play. Lillo dedicates the play to Sir John Eyles, a prominent member of the merchant class in London, in a letter before the text and plot begins. Lillo's domestic tragedy reflects a turning of the theater away from the court and toward the town.
Lillo was concerned that plays be morally correct and in keeping with Christian
values. His next play was The Christian Hero (1735), a retelling of the story of Skanderbeg
. It was followed by Fatal Curiosity (1737) and Marina in 1738. Lillo based Marina on the play Pericles by William Shakespeare. Many believe that the play Arden of Feversham was originally written by Lillo, but completed by John Hoadly in 1762. Other works include Elmerick and Britannia and Batavia.
His next play was Elmerick, or Justice Triumphant (1740), followed by the anonymous Elizabethan play Arden of Feversham (posthumously performed in 1759). The latter was based on the life of Alice Arden
. Lillo's plays are prescient, in that melodrama and domestic tragedy would dominate English theater in the 19th century. In his own day, his later plays in particular were only moderate successes, and afterwards old style tragedies and comedies dominated the stage. All of his plays were produced in London, and only three of them produced any profit.
Lillo died at age 48, in 1739, in London.
visited the royal court to discuss peace talks during a standstill in the population influx. This evidence of globalization and patterns of change in population led to the construction of Founding Hospital in 1741. The hospital aided citizens in areas of general health and pregnancy. However, the most significant cause of population increase in the mid-18th century was the increase of migration between London and the surrounding rural areas. There was a growing maritime industry, which attracted people from surrounding areas who were involved in the industry. Toward the end of Lillo’s life, London saw an increase in the black population due to the development of the slave trade between the Americas, Africa, The West Indies, and Europe.
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
and tragedian. He was a jeweler in London as well as a dramatist. He produced his first stage work, Silvia, or The Country Burial, in 1730. A year later, he produced his most famous play, The London Merchant
The London Merchant
The London Merchant is playwright George Lillo's most famous work. A tragedy that follows the downfall of a young apprentice due to his association with a prostitute, it is remarkable for its use of middle and working class characters...
. He wrote at least six more plays before his death in 1739, including The Christian Hero (1735), Fatal Curiosity (1737) and Marina (1738).
Life
George Lillo was born in Morrfields, London. He became a partner in his father’s goldsmith-jewelry business.Stage works
Lillo wrote at least eight plays between 1730 and his death in 1739. His first work in the theater was the ballad operaBallad opera
The term ballad opera is used to refer to a genre of English stage entertainment originating in the 18th century and continuing to develop in the following century and later. There are many types of ballad opera...
Silvia, or The Country Burial in 1730. He wrote it in order to reproduce the success of John Gay
John Gay
John Gay was an English poet and dramatist and member of the Scriblerus Club. He is best remembered for The Beggar's Opera , set to music by Johann Christoph Pepusch...
’s The Beggar’s Opera, but Lillo's play received mixed reviews and only showed for three nights.
The following year, Lillo wrote his most famous play, The London Merchant
The London Merchant
The London Merchant is playwright George Lillo's most famous work. A tragedy that follows the downfall of a young apprentice due to his association with a prostitute, it is remarkable for its use of middle and working class characters...
, or The History of George Barnwell (1731), which is considered one of the most popular and frequently produced plays of the 18th century. It was what might now be called a melodrama
Melodrama
The term melodrama refers to a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions. It may also refer to the genre which includes such works, or to language, behavior, or events which resemble them...
and set Augustan drama
Augustan drama
Augustan drama can refer to the dramas of Ancient Rome during the reign of Caesar Augustus, but it most commonly refers to the plays of Great Britain in the early 18th century, a subset of 18th-century Augustan literature...
into a more melodramatic course. Lillo wished to create a new genre of play, the "domestic tragedy
Domestic tragedy
In English drama, a domestic tragedy is a play in which the tragic protagonists are ordinary middle-class or lower-class individuals. This subgenre contrasts with classical and Neoclassical tragedy, in which the protagonists are of kingly or aristocratic rank and their downfall is an affair of...
" (or bourgeois tragedy
Bourgeois tragedy
Bourgeois Tragedy is a form of tragedy that developed in 18th century Europe. It was a fruit of the enlightenment and the emergence of the bourgeois class and its ideals...
). Instead of dealing with heroes from classical literature or the Bible, presented with spectacle and grand stage effects, his subjects concerned everyday people, such as his audience, the theater-going middle classes, and his tragedies were conducted on the intimate scale of households, rather than kingdoms. Even though the Jacobean stage had flirted with merchant and artisan plays in the past (with, for example, Thomas Dekker and Thomas Heywood
Thomas Heywood
Thomas Heywood was a prominent English playwright, actor, and author whose peak period of activity falls between late Elizabethan and early Jacobean theatre.-Early years:...
), this was a significant change in theatre, and in tragedy in particular.
In The London Merchant, the subject is an apprentice who must struggle with his conscience. He makes an imprudent choice and repents of his vice to attain only the hand of a worthy girl. Lillo redefined the subject of dramatic tragedy and demonstrated that middle and lower class citizens were worthy of tragic downfalls. The 17th century ballad about a murder in Shropshire was the historical foundation for the play. Lillo dedicates the play to Sir John Eyles, a prominent member of the merchant class in London, in a letter before the text and plot begins. Lillo's domestic tragedy reflects a turning of the theater away from the court and toward the town.
Lillo was concerned that plays be morally correct and in keeping with Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
values. His next play was The Christian Hero (1735), a retelling of the story of Skanderbeg
Skanderbeg
George Kastrioti Skanderbeg or Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu , widely known as Skanderbeg , was a 15th-century Albanian lord. He was appointed as the governor of the Sanjak of Dibra by the Ottomans in 1440...
. It was followed by Fatal Curiosity (1737) and Marina in 1738. Lillo based Marina on the play Pericles by William Shakespeare. Many believe that the play Arden of Feversham was originally written by Lillo, but completed by John Hoadly in 1762. Other works include Elmerick and Britannia and Batavia.
His next play was Elmerick, or Justice Triumphant (1740), followed by the anonymous Elizabethan play Arden of Feversham (posthumously performed in 1759). The latter was based on the life of Alice Arden
Alice Arden
Alice Arden was the daughter of John Brigantine and Alice Squire, who conspired to have her husband, Thomas Arden of Faversham, murdered so she could carry on with a long-term affair with a tailor, Richard Moseby. The murder took place on 14 February 1551...
. Lillo's plays are prescient, in that melodrama and domestic tragedy would dominate English theater in the 19th century. In his own day, his later plays in particular were only moderate successes, and afterwards old style tragedies and comedies dominated the stage. All of his plays were produced in London, and only three of them produced any profit.
Lillo died at age 48, in 1739, in London.
Historical context
Lillo was born during one of London’s population downturns, caused by such factors as fewer pregnancies and a higher infant mortality rate. When Lillo was producing Silvia, or The Country Burial, a group of Cherokee Indians from South CarolinaSouth Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
visited the royal court to discuss peace talks during a standstill in the population influx. This evidence of globalization and patterns of change in population led to the construction of Founding Hospital in 1741. The hospital aided citizens in areas of general health and pregnancy. However, the most significant cause of population increase in the mid-18th century was the increase of migration between London and the surrounding rural areas. There was a growing maritime industry, which attracted people from surrounding areas who were involved in the industry. Toward the end of Lillo’s life, London saw an increase in the black population due to the development of the slave trade between the Americas, Africa, The West Indies, and Europe.