David Garrick summary

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David Garrick, (born Feb. 19, 1717, Hereford, Herefordshire, Eng.—died Jan. 20, 1779, London), British actor, producer, and playwright. Tutored in his boyhood by Samuel Johnson, he settled in London as a wine merchant before winning fame with his acting debut as Richard III in 1741. In diverse roles in plays such as King Lear, Hamlet, and Ben Jonson’s The Alchemist, he was acclaimed for his naturalistic style and came to be regarded as one of England’s greatest actors. As part owner and manager of the Drury Lane Theatre (1747–76) he made it London’s most prosperous theatre, reformed theatrical stage practices, and replaced many Restoration adaptations of Shakespeare with his own versions. He wrote over 20 plays.

poetry Summary

Poetry, literature that evokes a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience or a specific emotional response through language chosen and arranged for its meaning, sound, and rhythm. (Read Britannica’s biography of this author, Howard Nemerov.) Poetry is a vast subject, as old as history and

acting Summary

Acting, the performing art in which movement, gesture, and intonation are used to realize a fictional character for the stage, for motion pictures, or for television. (Read Lee Strasberg’s 1959 Britannica essay on acting.) Acting is generally agreed to be a matter less of mimicry, exhibitionism, or

comedy Summary

Comedy, type of drama or other art form the chief object of which, according to modern notions, is to amuse. It is contrasted on the one hand with tragedy and on the other with farce, burlesque, and other forms of humorous amusement. The classic conception of comedy, which began with Aristotle in

William Shakespeare Summary

William Shakespeare was a poet, dramatist, and actor often called the English national poet. He is considered by many to be the greatest dramatist of all time. Shakespeare occupies a position unique in world literature. Other poets, such as Homer and Dante, and novelists, such as Leo Tolstoy and