- •1. The drama after Shakespeare. Jacobean drama and theatre.
- •2. Ben Jonson and his plays. Volpone.
- •Volpone
- •3. Thomas Dekker and his plays. Old Fortunatus.
- •4. Thomas Heywood and his plays. A Woman Killed with Kindness.
- •5. Beaumont and Fletcher. The Knight of the Burning Pestle.
- •6. John Webster and his plays. The White Devil.
- •7. John Webster and his plays. The Duchess of Malfi.
- •8. Cyril Tourneur and his plays. The Revenger’s Tragedy.
- •9. Masque and music at the Stuart Court
- •10. Puritanism and its influence on English Literature.
- •11. The Restoration and Public Pleasures.
- •12. The Enlightenment and Neoclassicism
- •13. The Great Fire of London
- •14. Basic themes in Restoration comedy: the younger son, marriage and the matter of inheritance, money. Morality. Satire. The pamphlet.
- •15. The Physical Structure of the Restoration Theatre.
- •16. The Restoration Theatre, Audience, Actors.
- •17. The Restoration Comedy.
- •20. William Wycherley. The Country Wife.
- •21. William Congreve (1670-1729). The Way of the World (1700) – the masterpiece of Restoration drama.
- •22. High Tragedy and Pathetic Tragedy
- •23. Comedy of Manners
- •24. John Dryden and his plays. The Indian Queen.
- •25. Sir George Etherege and his plays. Man of Mode
- •26. Thomas Shadwell. Absalom and Achitophel
- •27. George Farquhar and his plays. The Beaux' Stratagem.
- •28. Sir John Vanbrugh and his plays. The Relapse (1696)
- •29. Drama in the early 19th century
- •30. Theatre Riots.
- •31. Early Victorian Drama and theatrical conditions.
- •32. Oscar Wilde and his literary contribution. Lady Windermere’s Fan
- •33. Oscar Wilde and his literary contribution. An Ideal Husband
- •34. Oscar Wilde and his literary contribution. The Importance of Being Ernest
- •35. Oscar Wilde and his literary contribution. A Woman of No Importance
- •36. George Bernard Show and his literary contribution. Pygmalion.
- •37. George Bernard Show and his literary contribution. Heartbreak House.
- •38. George Bernard Show and his literary contribution. Mrs. Warren’s Profession.
- •39. 19Th century theatre. Melodrama
- •40. The Well-Made Play
- •41. The Irish Renaissance
- •Irish Humour
- •Irish Blarney
- •42. John Millington Synge. Riders to the Sea.
- •43. John Millington Synge. The Tinkers Wedding.
- •44. John Millington Synge. The Playboy of the Western World.
- •45. Thomas Sterns Eliot. Murder in the Cathedral.
- •46. John Osborne. Look Back in Anger
- •47. John Galsworthy. The Silver Box
- •48. John Galsworthy. Strife
47. John Galsworthy. The Silver Box
Birth
On 14th August 1867. At Kingston Hill in Surrey, England, into an established wealthy family. Son of John and Blanche Bailey Galsworthy. His large Kingston upon Thames estate is now the site of three schools Marymount International, Rokeby Preparatory School, Holy Cross
Education
Attended Harrow and New College, Oxford, training as a barrister, was called to the bar in 1890. However, he was not keen to begin practicing law
Travels
travelled abroad to look after the family's shipping business interests. During these travels he met Joseph Conrad, then the first mate of a sailing-ship moored in the harbour of Adelaide, Australia; the two future novelists became close friends
Marriage
In 1895 Galsworthy began an affair with Ada Nemesis Pearson Cooper, the wife of Maj. Arthur Galsworthy, one of his cousins. After her divorce ten years later, the pair married on 23rd September 1905 and stayed together until his death in 1933.
Writing Career
From the Four Winds, a collection of short stories, was Galsworthy's first published work in 1897. These, and several subsequent works, were published under the pen name John Sinjohn. In 1904 he began publishing under his own name, probably owing to the death of his father. His first play, The Silver Box (1906), became a success and he followed it up with The Man of Property (1906), the first in the Forsyte trilogy. Along with George Bernard Shaw, his plays addressed the class system and social issues. Two best known plays are Strife (1909) and The Skin Game (1920). Awarded the Nobel Prize in 1932. He was too ill to attend the Nobel awards ceremony. Died six weeks later.
Death
John Galsworthy lived for the final seven years of his life at Bury in West Sussex. He died from a brain tumour on 31st January 1933 at his London home, Grove Lodge, Hampstead. In accordance with his will he was cremated at Woking and his ashes scattered over the South Downs from an aero plane.
The Silver Box
The Silver Box is a powerful and bitter play. It is a criticism of the English legal system. In this play Galsworthy wants to show that justice has quite different meaning for the poor and the rich. In a fit of drunken mischief Jack Barthwick, the dissolute son of a rich member of the British Parliament Mr. John Barthwick, stole the purse of a woman. In a similar fit of drunken mischief Jones, the husband of the Bathwick's charwoman, stole a silver box and the same purse from the house of Mr. Barthwick.
The story is that on Easter Monday Jack Barthwick got terribly drunk and returned home late at night. He was trying to find the keyhole on the wrong side of the door. Jones also returned home late at night from a wine shop. He helped Jack to open the door. Jack invited him to have a drink. Both of them have a lot of wine. Meanwhile Jack went to sleep and Jones went on drinking and smoking. Jones was not in condition to distinguish between the right or wrong. While returning home, he took the silver cigarette-box as well as the purse with money.
In the morning a servant reported to Mr. Barthwick about the theft of the silver box and later on informed the police. A police officer went to the house of Jones to trace out the theft. Jones quarreled with the police official and he was arrested for stopping the police in the discharge of his official duty. Mr. Jones was also arrested. The police recovered the stolen goods from Jones' house. Jones and Mrs. Jones were accused of theft. Jones was produced before a magistrate and was tried for stealing the silver box as well as for assaulting a police officer. Mrs. Jones who was quite innocent, was also tried.
During the course of trial, it was found that Jones was out of job. Mrs. Jones was dismissed from service. The house in which they lived with their children was taken from them. When the case was in progress, Mr. Barthwick asked his solicitor, Roper to tell the magistrate that he did not want to pursue the case of theft. He expressed his desire that Jones might be tried simply for violence to the police officer. After a long discussion the magistrate set Mrs. Jones free and ordered one month's imprisonment with hard for Jones.