Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage
In March 1698,
Description
Collier begins his pamphlet with this conclusion: "[N]othing has gone farther in Debauching the Age than the Stage Poets, and Play-House" (Collier A2). He goes on, in great detail—despite the title—to give his evidence. For Collier, the immorality of the title stems from
Reaction
Due to its publication, a pamphlet war ensued (for and against Collier's case), lasting sporadically until about 1726. In 1698, John Dennis wrote a pamphlet entitled: The Usefulness of the Stage. John Vanbrugh wrote a jestful retort, A Short Vindication of The Relapse and The Provok'd Wife From Immorality and Prophaneness (1698). In his pamphlet, Vanbrugh accuses Collier of being more upset by the unflattering depictions of clergymen than actual blasphemy.[3] William Congreve, on the other hand, took the attacks on his plays quite seriously and refuted Collier's allegations in his Amendments of Mr. Collier's False and Imperfect Citations (1698). Other playwrights (like Thomas D'Urfey) preferred to give their reply on the stage. D'Urfey's play Campaigners (1698) comments on Collier's strictures. Collier would later fire back with his Defence of the Short View in 1699 and Edward Filmer would go on to defend Restoration theatre in 1707 with A Defence of Plays.
Analysis
By the end of the 17th century, the Restoration comic style had already collapsed: the satiric presentation of English life gave way to the sentimental portrait (beginning in 1696 with
Legacy
A Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage is often credited with turning the tide against the sexually explicit nature of Restoration comedy, but the tide had already begun turning; Collier's pamphlet was only "swimming" with the "tide" of public opinion.[4] The truth was that Restoration comedy was over; it had been worn down by external factors, such as the Glorious Revolution and William and Mary's bête-noire for theatre. Maybe the most obvious sign of Restoration theatre's death came with the nolle prosequi (immunity from prosecution for earlier offenses) granted to Collier by William III (for A Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage).[4]
Further reading
- Cordner, Michael (2000). "Playwright versus priest: profanity and the wit of Restoration comedy." In Deborah Payne Fisk (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to English Restoration Theatre, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Vanbrugh, John (1698). A Short Vindication of The Relapse and The Provok'd Wife From Immorality and Prophaneness, in Bonamy Dobrée and Geoffrey Webb (eds.) (1927), The Complete Works of Sir John Vanbrugh, vol. 1, Bloomsbury: The Nonesuch Press.