George Farquhar


Farquhar, George

(fär`kər, –kwər), 1678–1707, Irish dramatist, b. Londonderry (now Derry), Ireland. After his short career as an actor ended when he severely wounded a fellow actor in a stage duel, he wrote (1698) his first comedy, Love and a Bottle. His next play, The Constant Couple (1699), established his reputation. His experiences as an army officer are reflected in The Recruiting Officer (1706). He was on his deathbed when he completed his masterpiece, The Beaux' Stratagem (1707), a witty, realistic comedy set in the country. His plays, written in an atmosphere of genial merriment, represent the transition between the licentiousness of Restoration drama and the sentimentality of the 18th cent.

Bibliography

See his complete works (ed. by C. A. Stonehill, 1930); studies by E. Rothstein (1967) and E. James (1972).

Farquhar, George

 

Born 1677 or 1678 in Londonderry, Ireland; died Apr. 29, 1707, in London. Anglo-Irish dramatist.

Farquhar’s comedies, such as Love and a Bottle (1698), The Constant Couple (1699), and Sir Harry Wildair (1701), are characterized by complex plots and witty dialogue. His works expose hypocrisy and greed and are often filled with sentimental moralizing. Farquhar’s plays The Recruiting Officer (1706) and The Beaux’ Stratagem (1707) vividly depict life and provincial mores.

WORKS

The Complete Works, vols. 1–2. New York-London, 1930.
In Russian translation:
Komedii. Moscow, 1973.

REFERENCES

Istoriia zarubezhnoi literatury XVIII v. Moscow, 1967.
Rothstein, E. George Farquhar. New York, 1967.