Ralph Roister Doister

Ralph Roister Doister

"Ralph Roister Doister" is a comic play by Nicholas Udall, generally regarded as the first comedy to be written in the English language.

The date of its composition is disputed, but the balance of opinion suggests that it was written in about 1553, when Udall was a teacher in London, and was intended to be performed by his pupils - who were all male, as were all actors at that period. However, it was not published until 1567, eleven years after its author's death.

The plot of the play centres on a wealthy widow, Christian Custance, who is betrothed to Gawyn Goodluck, a merchant. Ralph Roister Doister is prompted by a friend to woo Christian Custance but his pompous attempts do not succeed. Ralph then tries with his friends to break in and take Christian Custance by force but they are defeated by her servants and run away. The merchant Gawyn arrives shortly after and the play concludes happily.

The play is probably best described as a farce, and owes something to the Latin playwrights, Plautus and Terence. Much like Terence's works, the play also "(displays) an erotics of the letter that simultaneously registers and occludes the 'open secret' of pederastic desire." [Pittenger E (1995). "The traffic in pages: pedagogy, pedastry, and printing in the English renaissance." Ph.D Thesis, The Johns Hopkins University]

Notes

External links

* [http://home.vicnet.net.au/~bard/Ralph_Roister_Doister.html Ralph Roister Doister: The First Regular English Comedy]


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