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Satire
Definition of Setting
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or it can be an imagined... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the... read full definition
Key Examples in She Stoops to Conquer
Act 1
Explanation and Analysis:
She Stoops to Conquer is set almost entirely in the Hardcastles’ home in the English countryside, with an occasional scene in the local inn, The Three Pigeons. The setting proves an important part of the play, with the divide between the town and countryside a key theme that sets up much of the play’s satire. Indeed, the importance of the city vs. country dynamic is immediately established in the first act, which begins with Mr and Mrs Hardcastle bickering about their different opinions on London, in an exchange which mirrors typical contemporary attitudes:
MRS. HARDCASTLE. I vow, Mr. Hardcastle, you’re very particular. Is there a creature in the whole country but ourselves, that does not take a trip to town now and then, to rub off the rust a little? There’s the two Miss Hoggs, and our neighbour Mrs. Grigsby, go to take a month’s polishing every winter.
HARDCASTLE. Ay, and bring back vanity and affectation to last them the whole year. I wonder why London cannot keep its own fools at home! In my time, the follies of the town crept slowly among us, but now they travel faster than a stage-coach. Its fopperies come down not only as inside passengers, but in the very basket.
Related Themes:
