In the prologue, Goldsmith makes an allusion to the Comic Muse—the ancient Greek goddess of the comedic arts—in a metaphor that highlights his rejection of the sentimental comedy for the comedy of manners genre. In the prologue, Mr Woodward, a celebrated actor, enters the stage dressed in black and crying. He explains the cause of his grief: ""I’m crying now—and have been all the week. / '’Tis not alone this mourning suit,' good masters: / 'I’ve that within'—for which there are no plasters! / Pray, would you know the reason why I’m crying? / The Comic Muse, long sick, is now a-dying! / And if she goes, my tears will never stop; / For as a player, I can’t squeeze out one drop[.]"
The cause of Mr Woodward’s tears, as he reveals here in an extended metaphor, is that the Comic Muse is dying, and as a result he, an actor who is unable to play serious or tragic characters, will be out of work. The Comic Muse is a reference to ancient Greek mythology, in which the Muses were a group of nine goddesses considered to be the inspiration for literature and the arts. Here, Mr Woodward’s allusion specifically refers to Thalia, the muse of comedy.
The idea that the Comic Muse is dying functions as a metaphor for the comedic genre, with Goldsmith making clear his disparagement for the rising popularity of the sentimental comedy, a genre which replaced the frivolity and bawdiness of the traditional Restoration comedy with moralistic trials and high emotions. Goldsmith’s appeal to the audience to save the Comic Muse thus refers to his desire to restore the traditional comedic genre, which aims to make its audience laugh, not cry.
Right at the beginning of the play, Goldsmith makes an allusion to the poem “The Joys of Love never forgot” through Mrs Hardcastle’s reference to Darby and Joan, in a comment that sets up the play’s realism and rejection of sentimentality.
HARDCASTLE. And I love it. I love everything that’s old: old friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wine; and I believe, Dorothy (taking her hand), you’ll own I have been pretty fond of an old wife.
MRS. HARDCASTLE. Lord, Mr. Hardcastle, you’re for ever at your Dorothys and your old wifes. You may be a Darby, but I’ll be no Joan, I promise you.
The reference to Darby and Joan is a conventional saying that refers to a virtuous, mutually devoted couple who contentedly live a quiet and placid life. The phrase first appeared in print in a 1735 poem by Henry Woodfall called “The Joys of Love never forgot,” which references a “dropsical," “sore-eyed” couple, a description rather far from the glamorous type which Mrs Hardcastle aspires to be. Her retort, therefore, that she will be no Joan is a rejection of the mundanity and drabness associated with such a character. Her assertion that Mr Hardcastle may be a Darby is a playful criticism of her husband’s conservatism and love of the old.
By opening the play in this way, Goldsmith quickly grounds the play in domestic realism, with Mr and Mrs Hardcastle’s lighthearted bickering probably a more realistic representation of contemporary (and indeed modern) marriage than Darby and Joan’s model. Such realism is key to the laughing comedy genre and gives the play its relatable appeal. .
After Hastings tells Tony he is in love with Constance in Act 2 and asks him to help him in his plans to elope with her, Tony runs off the stage singing in triumph, with an allusion to a traditional navy song:
TONY. Come along then, and you shall see more of my spirit before you have done with me. [Singing.
We are the boys
That fears no noise
Where the thundering cannons roar.
Tony’s lyrics here reference the naval song "Don’t Forget Your Old Shipmate," often sung by British Royal Navy sailors. The song referenced is upbeat and jubilant, with the lyrics going on to say "And now we’re safe on shore, folderol." Tony’s allusion to the song speaks to his own jubilation at escaping any obligations to Constance, while also extending the metaphor running throughout the play that love is akin to a military conquest.
Tony’s use of this metaphor adds a particularly comical tone, with him seeing his freedom from a marriage to Constance as the same as being safe from a military battle. Tony’s familiarity with common naval songs also extends the play’s characterization of him as one of the more rustic characters; it's easy to imagine him having picked this song up on one of his nights in the local inn. His singing of the song accords with his happy-go-lucky spirit while also highlighting his provincialism.
The idea that life is a play is hinted at throughout the play, but is most strongly invoked in a metaphor in the first epilogue. After the main events of the play have concluded, Kate emerges on the stage alone to deliver an epilogue in which she recounts her character’s journey through the five acts and the different parts she plays.
WELL, having stooped to conquer with success,
And gained a husband without aid from dress,
Still as a Barmaid, I could wish it too,
As I have conquered him to conquer you:
And let me say, for all your resolution,
That pretty Barmaids have done execution.
Our life is all a play, composed to please,
“We have our exits and our entrances.”
Here, Kate’s direct invocation of the audience sets up parallels between the play and real life as she references the multiple layers of her act, with her character seeking both to conquer an admirer within the play (Marlow) and also to conquer her many admirers outside of it—that is, the audience. In doing so, Kate blurs the boundaries between life and art, giving extra resonance to her comment that “life is all a play, composed to please.” In other words, performance is not restricted to the theater, as people assume roles in their everyday lives in their efforts to please others.
Furthermore, Kate strengthens the metaphor through an allusion to Shakespeare’s famous "seven ages of man" speech from his comedy As You Like It. When Kate quotes “we have our exits and our entrances," she directly references this speech: "All the world’s a stage / And all the men and women merely players; / They have their exits and their entrances, / And one man in his time plays many parts[.]"
Like Shakespeare, Kate argues that men and women in the real world are also “players,” or actors, performing and taking on multiple roles throughout their lives. This idea is particularly pertinent to Kate’s character in She Stoops to Conquer, as she constructs multiple personas for herself depending on who is around. Her wearing fashionable clothes in the morning, for example, represents perhaps her most genuine self, while her adherence to her father's favored styles at dinner represents her persona as the model daughter. More obviously, her masquerading as the barmaid when talking to Marlow is a purposeful character construction designed to trick Marlow into being at ease with her. Indeed, when setting up this ploy, Kate’s maid explicitly asks whether she is sure she can “act the part" (which she can). In the ease with which she flits between roles, Kate demonstrates the validity of her metaphor.
