Drama in the Victorian Age

Summary

This lecture delves into Victorian Drama, a period where drama wasn't the main genre but still had significant contributions. Despite the limited output, writers like Thackeray, Dickens, and Collins experimented with drama. Theatres were popular leisure spots, with plays often using everyday English. Drama was dominated by farces, melodramas, and historical plays, but faced censorship challenges. Tom Robertson pioneered realistic drama with 'Cup and Saucer' plays, influencing later works. Controversies and the influence of Henrik Ibsen led to 'Play of Ideas', epitomized by Oscar Wilde's witty comedies that critiqued Victorian hypocrisy. Other playwrights like Arthur Wing Pinero and Henry Arthur Jones also made notable contributions, reflecting the complex interplay of art, politics, and society.

Takeaways

• 🎭 Drama was not a major genre during the Victorian Age, but it's important to study the little output that was produced to understand literary trends and shifts.
• 📚 Many writers of the Victorian period, such as Thackeray, Dickens, and Wilkie Collins, were also novelists and experimented with drama, despite limited output.
• 🎟️ Theatre-going was a popular leisure activity, with playhouses like Covent Garden and Drury Lane accommodating large audiences and staging many plays.
• 🎨 The dominant types of drama during the Victorian period were Farces, Patomimes, Melodramas, and Historical plays.
• 🚫 The Theatres Licensing Act of 1737 imposed censorship on plays for about 230 years, restricting the freedom of dramatists and the range of subjects they could address.
• 🔓 The 1860s saw a shift towards more realistic depictions in drama, with playwright Tom Robertson leading this change and influencing what later became known as 'Cup and Saucer' dramas.
• 🌐 The influence of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen was significant in the Victorian stage, challenging social conventions and family institutions with his plays like 'A Doll's House'.
• 💡 George Bernard Shaw’s work 'The Quintessence of Ibsenism' was instrumental in promoting Ibsen’s work in England and the concept of the 'Play of Ideas'.
• 🎩 Oscar Wilde was a master of 'Play of Ideas', known for his witty and humorous plays that often dealt with taboo subjects and criticized the hypocrisy of Victorian society.
• 🚫 Despite his success, Wilde faced criticism and censorship, and his play 'Salome' was banned due to its controversial content.
• 📖 Other notable Victorian playwrights include Arthur Wing Pinero, Dandy Dick, Douglas Jerrold, Henry Arthur Jones, W E Henley, Tom Taylor, and Thomas William Robertson, each contributing to the diversity of Victorian drama.

Q & A

Why was drama not a major genre in the Victorian Age?

Drama was not a major genre in the Victorian Age because it was overshadowed by other forms of writing, such as prose and novels, which were more popular and experimental for writers of that time.

What were the two major patented playhouses during the Victorian period?

The two major patented playhouses during the Victorian period were Covent Garden and Drury Lane, which were enlarged to accommodate about 3500 people at a single time.

How did the Theatres Licensing Act of 1737 impact Victorian drama?

The Theatres Licensing Act of 1737 imposed censorship on plays, severely constraining and restricting the output of drama for about 230 years until its abolition in 1968. This led to a limitation on the range of subjects that could be handled on stage.

What type of drama dominated the Victorian period?

The type of drama that dominated the Victorian period was mostly Farces and Patomimes, along with melodramatic and historical plays.

Who is Tom Robertson, and what is his significance in Victorian drama?

Tom Robertson was a playwright who contributed significantly to Victorian drama by moving towards a more realistic form of depiction from the 1860s onwards. He is known for insisting on stage settings with real ceilings and properties, initiating 'Cup and Saucer' dramas.

What was the 'Cup and Saucer' drama, and how did it differ from earlier drama?

The 'Cup and Saucer' drama was a form of drama initiated by Tom Robertson that paid a lot of realistic attention to detail. It was in stark contrast to earlier drama, which could be staged with mere representative props placed on the stage.

What controversies emerged in the 1880s and 1890s that affected the growth of stage activities?

In the 1880s and 1890s, controversies arose due to the rise of realism in drama and literature, which was initially not well-received by the Victorian audience. This led to public outrage and even the burning of some realist novels.

How did Henrik Ibsen's work influence Victorian drama?

Henrik Ibsen's work, although written for a Norwegian audience, reached the English stage in the 1880s and sparked a revolution in dramatic genius and social conventions, challenging authority and questioning societal norms.

What is the concept of 'Play of Ideas', and how did it change Victorian drama?

The concept of 'Play of Ideas' marked a radical shift from action on the stage towards dialogues and the prominence of disseminating ideas. It led to a focus on intellectual content rather than just entertainment, with Oscar Wilde being a master of this new form.

What were the common themes in Oscar Wilde's comedies?

Oscar Wilde's comedies often dealt with dangerous and compromising secrets, social hierarchy, and the hypocrisy of the Victorian society. His works were known for their wit, humor, and critical examination of societal norms.

What was the significance of the Dramatic Authors Society founded by Douglas Jerrold in 1833?

The Dramatic Authors Society, founded by Douglas Jerrold in 1833, was significant as it aimed to protect the interests of playwrights, showing a crossover of politics and art to support each other.

Outlines

00:00

🎭 Introduction to Victorian Drama

The lecture begins by acknowledging that drama was not a predominant genre during the Victorian Age, contrary to its reputation in other literary forms. Despite this, the speaker emphasizes the importance of examining even minor literary outputs to understand the evolution of genres and their reflection of socio-political changes. The period saw playwrights, often also novelists like Thackeray, Dickens, and Wilkie Collins, experimenting with drama. Theatre attendance was popular, with Covent Garden and Drury Lane being notable venues. Drama during this time was characterized by farces, pantomimes, and melodramatic and historical plays. However, playwrights faced censorship challenges due to the Theatres Licensing Act of 1737, which limited the range of acceptable stage subjects for over two centuries. The lecture also touches on the gradual shift towards realism in drama from the 1860s, with Tom Robertson's contributions being pivotal.

05:02

🎩 Tom Robertson and the Emergence of Realistic Drama

This section of the lecture focuses on Tom Robertson, the playwright who pioneered a more realistic approach to drama, moving away from melodrama and embracing the spirit of the Victorian era. Robertson's plays, such as 'Society,' 'A Caste,' 'Play,' and 'School,' are highlighted for their departure from traditional farce and burlesque. He insisted on detailed stage settings, including real ceilings and properties, marking a significant shift towards realism. Robertson's work is also recognized as the precursor to 'Cup and Saucer' dramas, which emphasized realistic details, and later influenced the 'kitchen sink' plays of the 20th century. However, the growth of the stage was not without controversy, as the 1880s and 1890s saw backlash against realism and the challenging of societal norms, particularly in the works of Henrik Ibsen, whose plays stirred debate and criticism.

10:04

📚 The Impact of Ibsen and the 'Play of Ideas'

The lecture discusses the significant influence of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen on Victorian drama, despite his plays being written for a Norwegian audience. Ibsen's works, such as 'The Pillars of Society' and 'A Doll’s House,' were embraced for their unconventional questioning and challenging of authority, particularly in the context of family and social institutions. This period also saw the rise of the 'Play of Ideas,' a concept that shifted the focus from stage action to dialogue and the dissemination of ideas. Oscar Wilde is highlighted as a master of this new form, with his witty and humorous plays, such as 'A Woman of No Importance,' 'An Ideal Husband,' 'Lady Windermere’s Fan,' and 'The Importance of Being Earnest,' dealing with taboo subjects and social hypocrisy. Wilde's critical examination of Victorian society's facade and his eventual tragic downfall due to societal morals and legal repercussions are also covered.

15:04

🏛 The Legacy of Victorian Drama and its Playwrights

The final part of the lecture wraps up the discussion on Victorian drama by mentioning other significant playwrights of the period, such as Arthur Wing Pinero, Dandy Dick, Douglas Jerrold, Henry Arthur Jones, W E Henley, Tom Taylor, and Thomas William Robertson. It underscores the importance of considering lesser-known authors and genres to build a comprehensive understanding of literary history. The lecture concludes by emphasizing the continuity in literary discussions and the significance of examining non-representative events of every age to gain a deeper insight into the cultural and societal context of the time.

Keywords

💡Victorian Age

The Victorian Age refers to the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 1837 to 1901, which was marked by significant social, economic, and cultural changes in Britain. In the context of the video, it is important for understanding the historical backdrop against which Victorian drama was produced, as it was a time when drama was not the major genre, but still had its place in the literary landscape.

💡Drama

Drama, in this video, refers to plays and theatrical performances, which were a significant form of entertainment during the Victorian Age. The script discusses how drama was overshadowed by other literary forms like prose and novels, yet it remained an important part of the cultural scene, with notable playwrights contributing to its development.

💡Theatres Licensing Act of 1737

The Theatres Licensing Act of 1737 was a British law that imposed censorship on plays and theatres, restricting the content that could be performed. The video explains how this act, which lasted until its abolition in 1968, severely constrained the creativity and expression of dramatists, affecting the themes and language used in plays during the Victorian period.

💡Realism

Realism in the context of the video refers to a movement in drama that sought to depict life and society in a more truthful and authentic manner. The script highlights the shift towards realism in Victorian drama from the 1860s onwards, with playwright Tom Robertson being a key figure in this transition, moving away from melodrama and towards more realistic settings and themes.

💡Melodrama

Melodrama is a form of drama characterized by exaggerated emotions, stereotypical characters, and interpersonal conflicts. The video mentions that melodramatic plays were common during the Victorian period, but there was also a shift towards more realistic depictions, indicating a change in dramatic tastes and societal expectations.

💡Play of Ideas

The 'Play of Ideas' is a concept introduced in the video that signifies a shift in drama from action to dialogue and the dissemination of ideas. This concept is exemplified by the works of Henrik Ibsen and the support he received in England, leading to a new form of drama that prioritized intellectual content and challenged societal norms.

💡Censorship

Censorship in the video refers to the control and suppression of ideas, images, and information considered politically unacceptable, obscene, or a threat to social order. The script discusses how censorship, particularly in relation to the Theatres Licensing Act, affected the content of Victorian plays and the freedom of dramatists to explore certain themes.

💡Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde is a renowned playwright and author mentioned in the video, known for his wit, humor, and satirical works. Wilde's plays, such as 'The Importance of Being Earnest,' are highlighted for their clever dialogue and criticism of Victorian society's hypocrisy, despite the challenges he faced due to censorship and personal scandal.

💡Henrik Ibsen

Henrik Ibsen was a Norwegian playwright whose influence on Victorian drama is significant, as discussed in the video. His plays, such as 'A Doll's House' and 'The Pillars of Society,' introduced unconventional questioning and challenged authority, leading to both enthusiasm and criticism in England and contributing to the 'Play of Ideas' movement.

💡Tom Robertson

Tom Robertson is identified in the video as a pivotal figure in the transition towards realism in Victorian drama. His plays, such as 'Society,' 'A Caste,' 'Play,' and 'School,' moved away from melodrama and towards more realistic depictions of society, emphasizing the importance of stage settings and everyday life details.

Highlights

Drama was not a major genre in the Victorian Age, but it is important to examine the little output produced to understand literary tendencies and shifts due to socio-political events.

Many writers who were also prose and novelists, such as Thackeray, Dickens, and Wilkie Collins, experimented with drama, despite limited output.

Theatre going was a popular leisure activity with major playhouses like Covent Garden and Drury Lane enlarged to accommodate large audiences.

Victorian plays often adapted earlier successful works and used everyday English, reflecting the language of the streets.

Farces, Patomimes, melodramatic, and historical plays dominated the Victorian stage.

Dramatists faced central problems and constraints compared to novelists, including censorship restrictions dating back to the Theatres Licensing Act of 1737.

The censorship of plays was a political move initially but expanded to cover religious and moral themes, impacting the freedom of expression for dramatists.

Victorian drama gradually moved towards a Realistic form of depiction from the 1860s onwards, with playwright Tom Robertson being a significant contributor.

Tom Robertson insisted on stage settings with real ceilings and properties, marking a move towards realist drama and 'Cup and Saucer' dramas.

Controversies in the 1880s and 1890s, such as the public burning of Emile Zola and Thomas Hardy's works, hampered the growth of stage activities.

The influence of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen was memorable and powerful, leading to a revolution in the Victorian stage and challenging social conventions.

Oscar Wilde was a master of the 'Play of Ideas', with his witty and humorous plays often dealing with dangerous and compromising secrets.

Wilde's play 'The Importance of Being Earnest' dealt with obscure social origins and criticized the social hierarchy and notions of aristocracy.

Wilde's personal life and the scandal surrounding it reflect the dichotomy and crisis of Victorian morals.

Arthur Wing Pinero and other playwrights like Dandy Dick and Douglas Jerrold engaged with themes of social scandal, though not all found success on stage.

Douglas Jerrold was known for founding the Dramatic Authors Society in 1833 to protect the interests of playwrights, showing a crossover of politics and art.

Henry Arthur Jones was a committed dramatist whose works, though not widely popular, demonstrated dramatic genius.

Other Victorian playwrights like W E Henley, Tom Taylor, and Thomas William Robertson are often overlooked in literary histories but contributed to the drama of the period.

Transcripts

Hello and welcome to yet another session of  the course The History of English Language  

and Literature. In today’s lecture, we shall be  looking at Drama in the Victorian Age. At the  

outset let’s begin with this cover that drama  was not a major genre in the Victorian period.  

The Victorian Age in fact is least known as  the age of place but nevertheless as we had  

been doing in a discussion of the other ages and  periods as well. Even when genre or particular  

forms of writing by getting eclipsed in an age. It is important to highlight even the little  

output that was being produced in terms of  that particular genre. This is important for  

us to know how various genres were fairing at  various appoints of time and also seem to see  

how literary tendencies were getting shifted  due to the socio-political events and the  

socio our political concerns of particular times.  So in order to continue building a structure,  

coherence and continuity into our  discussion of literary history. 

Here we go taking a look at Victorian Drama though  the output was quite marginal. Most of the drama  

of this period was produce because many of the  writers who were also prose and novelist they  

also wanted to experiment in different forms of  writing. We also noticed in the earlier discussion  

where some of the poets also had a shown a  lot of interest in writing a couple of dramas.

So many of these writers were also novelist such  as Thackeray, Dickens and Wilkie Collins though  

the output in terms of drama was quite limited. We noted that from the early 19th century onwards  

throughout the Romantic period, drama continued  to be a quite a popular form the theatre going  

activity had not really come down infact they  were two major patented playhouses Covent Garden  

and Drury Lane. They were enlarged during this  time they could house about 3500 people at a  

single time and two other theatres were also  quite prominent Adelphi and Sadler’s Wells. 

So find a lot of place getting staged in these  playhouses doing quite well in terms of prime  

new generation which also indicates that the  play going was a one of the important leisure  

activities of those times. In the popular  place of those times, a lot of everyday  

English is being used. The dramatic English  is no longer separate from the English which  

is used in the streets and we also find an  adaptation of most of the earlier successful  

place being done at the Victorian period. If we try to look at the kind of drama, which  

was dominating the Victorian period was mostly  Farces and Patomimes. We also find a melodramatic  

and historical plays as well. In the Victorian  period the dramatis faced a central problem in  

comparison to the novelist. Vis-à-vis the novelist  they were not really free to write about anything  

that also had placed a severe constrain on their  genius and also on the their power of expression.

If we recall we had already taken a look at  the censorship of plays which came into being  

with the Theatres Licensing Act of 1737 and its  abolition in 1968 which was a period of about  

230 years. We find the output of drama being  severely constrain and restricted. So during  

this period we also notice that a wide range of  subjects were not being allowed to be handled  

on stage because it was seemed that many of the  things could be could form a corrupting influence  

on the popular audience. That will also lead us  to another question, how about the other genres  

and how about the other forms of writing which  were also “corrupting” the popular audience. 

But again it is important to highlight that some  of this things did have a political origin and we  

find all of this continuing into the literary  and other artistic forms of expression. For  

instances the Theatres Licensing Act of 1737  initially we know that it was a political move,  

it will be useful to recall some of the evens  that let to this censorship act and also the  

turn of events which had immersed from the  Restoration period onwards. As we recall it,  

it was mainly a political move to begin with. But however we find this censorship expanding  

to cover other aspects and other areas of life  as well. There is a restriction being imposed  

on religious and moral themes as well. It is no  longer dominated by the political tendencies or  

the shifting loyalties. It is also about even  trivial things such as a use of bad language on  

stage or any kind of proposal of indecency.  Altogether, we find the authorities trying  

to ban anything and everything which is likely  to deprave and corrupt the potential audience. 

This being a very abstract kind of understanding  it was quite impossible to bring in anything  

which could offend anyone in terms of a moral  or even any kind of religious a sensibility.

In spite of all of this dominating events, we find  the Victorian drama gradually but steadily moving  

towards a Realistic form of depiction this happens  from the 1860’s onwards. In that sense, it is very  

important to highlight the contributions and the  significance of the playwright Tom Robertson. 

If we go through the tittles of his plays, we  can almost sense the kind of place that he was  

producing Society in 1865, A Caste in 1867, Play  in 1868 and School in 1869. We find that all of  

his works were quite removed from the melodramatic  depictions of that time he is also more responsive  

to the society and tries to imbibe the spirit  of the Victorian a temper. He also had rejected  

the usual conventions of farce and burlesque and  had a moved towards a more realistic depiction. 

Accordingly, it is important to highlight  the fact that he is the first playwright  

to insist on stage setting of a room having  real ceiling and real properties. So this was  

a fist move towards realist drama and he is  also seen as the initiator of what has later  

come to be known as ‘Cup and Saucer’ dramas.  This infact was a kind of drama which paid  

a lot of realist attention to detail and a  this is in stark contrast with the earlier  

kind of drama which could be staged with a mere  representative prop which was a placed on the  

stage. The Cup and Saucer drama initiated by  Tom Robertson could be seen as the forerunner  

of kitchen sink plays about we shall be taking a  look at when we talk about the 20th century drama.

In spite of this many promising tendencies,  which were dominating the Victorian stage there  

were also lot of controversies that emerged in  the 1880’s and 1890’s which hampered the growth  

of the stage activities as well. Later in our  discussions on the English novel we shall also  

be noticing that and this was the period when the  realist form of artistic expression was gaining  

a lot of popularity. But however it also had let  to a lot of criticism from the popular audience.  

Accordingly we find the realist novels of the  French writer Emile Zola and the popular English  

writer Thomas Hardy being publicly burned  because of the outrage that they caused. 

The Victorian England though it was quite  tolerant about many kinds of expression we  

do find certain unreasonable reactions and  outrages against certain things that they  

consider taboo or unacceptable or even  obscene. Realism was one such literary  

tendency that the Victorian’s initially  could not tolerate at all. In drama,  

we find this getting reflected ok because an  outrage though it develop as a reaction to one  

particular thing we do find it spreading  across genres in the Victorian period. 

As a result, the outrage caused by  the translations of the plays of the  

Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen  needs to be recalled at this time.

The influence of Ibsen was very memorable and  extremely powerful in the Victorian stage. Though  

Ibsen wrote his plays for the Norwegian audience  in the 1860’s they reach the English stage only  

by the 1880’s. From then on a revolution had  set on not just in the dramatic genius but  

also in the many things which were dominating  the Victorian society in terms of a the social  

conventions the family institutions etc. His important work The Pillars of Society  

and A Doll’s House they were accepted with a  lot of enthusiasm in England but they also had  

let to a lot of criticisms because of the  kind of unconventional questioning and the  

challenging of authority that it did. A Doll's  House for example was a quite influential in  

challenging the convention of our typical English  a family, it also encouraged a lot of free thought  

especially from young women and this was seen  as quite challenging and quite unacceptable by  

many of the Victorian masters of those time. A literary event which marked the foundations  

of turning point in English drama was a Bernard  Shaw’s work The Quintessence of Ibsenism. This  

work was a first essay to give an impetus to  Ibsen’s work in England and after that in the  

20th century mostly we find the reflections of  this particular genius, which began to emerge  

from the end of the Victorian period. Ibsen  and the kind of support that he garnered in  

the English stage it let to the emergence of  what we now understand as the “Play of Ideas”. 

The concept of the Play of Ideas was quite  significant that there was a radical shift  

from action on the stage towards dialogues and  towards a prominence of dissemination of ideas.

Oscar Wilde was perhaps the master of this new  kind of play of ideas and he was very successful  

between the period 1892 and 1895. His plays  were very witty and humorous it always drove  

a lot of audience and his best known works  were in the form of epigrammatic comedies  

and in his comedies we find that mostly he was  handling dangerous and compromising secrets. 

Since it was infuse with a lot of humour he  could even surpass many of the censorship  

rules of the play and if you take a look at some  of his leading a plays, A Women of No Importance  

staged in 1893 was about illegitimate birth it  had an not been for the comic interface that a  

Wilde cave it. It would not have been possible  to talk about such taboos subjects where plays  

An Ideal Husband and Lady Windermere’s  Fan dealt with the culpable indiscretions. 

The Importance of Being Earnest so for the  best known of Wilde’s plays and even this  

continues to be stage even in the contemporary  this dealt with obscure social origins and  

Wilde was extremely critical about the social  hierarchy and notions of aristocracy. In most  

of the plays Wilde reveals the hypocrisy of the  Victorian society, in that sense again is you  

to remember that the Victorian society though  it had placed a lot of value on the outgoing  

religious sentiments, it was also a time  dominated by a lot of hypocritical thoughts. 

It was not really easy to differentiate between  what the actual belief of a person was and what  

he outwardly had shown. This hypocrisy was mostly  found within the circles of the aristocracy and  

in the upper middle class strata of the society.  So Wilde was one of those who completely exposed  

all of these trades and also made a lot of  ridicule and fun out of it. Wilde also had  

to face some criticism and censorship. His  play Salome was based on a biblical tragedy  

and it was written in 1891-92. Though it was written in French,  

it was banned in the English stage as well and it  was he could never stage it in any of the English  

theatres. Allow me to read to you a passage from  The Importance of Being Earnest this is from the  

famous handbag scene it is also considered as one  of the wittiest scenes in the English plays.

This is a conversation between two characters  Lady Bracknell and Jack. Lady Bracknell asks,  

“Are your parents living? I have lost  both of them. Both? To lose one parent  

maybe be regarded as a misfortune to  lose both looks like carelessness.” 

So this kind of humour which even bordered  on a dark humour and a lot of irony and even  

some kind of a comic cruelty was immensely  popular and Wilde in that sense continues  

to be one of the most quoted humorous  and satires even in the contemporary.

In spite of the immense success  and popularity that Wilde enjoyed  

we find him moving towards a very tragic end. He had a very humiliating end to his dramatic  

career. He was sentenced to 2 years of hard  labour for homosexual offenses. Homosexuality  

as a practise was made illegal in England in  1885. In the contrast between Wilde’s plays  

and the kind of personal life that he led we can  find some of the trades of Victorianism getting  

embody as well. As some of the historians have  pointed out the dichotomy between the elegant  

social witticisms and the seeming frivolity  of the comic plots and the shame and scandal  

of Wilde’s private life is almost emblematic  of the whole crisis of the Victorian morals 

So significantly even for certain  writers who tried to stay away from  

some of the pressing concerns of the day  and try to completely camouflage these  

concerns with wit and irony and humour,  we find even they are not able to stay  

away from the crisis of Victorian morals.  The other important works by Wilde include  

The Picture of Dorian Gray and Teleny  and he also wrote some non-fictional  

and non-dramatic works such as The Truth of  Masks and The Soul of Man Under Socialism. 

In this we find him engaging in a  probe behind the Victorian facade  

into the details and implications of some  of the standardised hypocrisies of the age.

The other significant playwrights of the Victorian  period include Arthur Wing Pinero who had written  

The Squire and The Second Mrs.Tanqueray.  Dandy Dick who had published The Magistrate,  

he also like while engaged with a  lot of themes of social scandal. 

Douglas Jerrold was primarily a journalist and he  was associated with the periodicals Athenaeum and  

The Punch. His works The Mutiny at the Nore,  Martha Willis and The Factory Girl were mostly  

melodramatic in nature. They were not really  successful in stage and they did not find much  

success in print either, but he was more known  for his influence which was more significant in  

him being the founder of the Dramatic Authors  Society in 1833. This Society was to protect  

the interest of the playwrights and in that sense  it also becomes one of the moments when politics  

and art crossover in order to embrace each other. Henry Arthur Jones was a more committed dramatist  

than many of these minor other dramatists.  His important works were The Liars,  

Mrs. Danes’s Defence. We do not find him  enjoying much popularity but however an  

analysis of his craft would proved to us  he did have a the perfect dramatic genius.

The other important Victorian playwrights  whose works are not really discussed in  

literary histories are W E Henley, Tom  Taylor and Thomas William Robertson. 

With this we come to an end of this very brief  session on the Victorian dramatist. As we noted  

at the beginning it is important to build in  a lot of continuity into our discussion over  

literary histories, which is why we focus even  on lesser known authors and lesser known genres  

and also the non-representative events of  every age. With this we wrap up today’s  

session thank you for listening and I look  forward to seeing you in the next session.