Sheridan - Richard Brinsley Sheridan

British playwright and politician. Born in Dublin to an actor father and a writer mother. In 1771, when his family lived in Bath, a hot spring resort in southwest England, he fell in love with Elizabeth Linley (1754-1792), a singer who was said to be the flower of the town, and eloped to France. He fought two duels as a result, but was eventually forgiven and married her. He wove this experience into his debut work, The Rival (1775), which was well received for its skillful plot and clear character portrayal. One character in particular, Mrs. Malaprop, who always used difficult words and made mistakes in her speech, became so famous that the word has been turned into a common noun (malapropism). In 1776, he became a member of the management of Drury Lane, one of the two major theaters at the time, and had success with plays such as The School for Badmouthing (1777) and The Critic (1779), which satirized the popular sentimental comedy. His characteristic was that he diluted the elements of sentimental comedy with clever dialogue and a mastery of stage effects, and instead revived the laughter of the comedy of manners of a generation earlier. He became a member of the House of Commons in 1780, and his eloquence was expected to make him a bright future, but he was financially stuck due to the repairs and fire of the theater, and he was defeated in the election of 1812, and spent his later years unhappy.

[Nakano Satoshi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

イギリスの劇作家、政治家。俳優を父に、作家を母にダブリンで生まれる。1771年一家がイギリス南西部の温泉地バスに住んだとき、その町の名花と称された歌姫エリザベス・リンリーElizabeth Linley（1754－1792）と恋をしてフランスに駆け落ちし、そのため二度も決闘をしたが、結局許され結婚した。処女作『恋敵(こいがたき)』（1775）にその経験が織り込まれており、巧みな筋立てと明確な性格描写で好評を博した。とくに登場人物のなかでいつもむずかしいことばを使っては言い間違いをするマラプロップ夫人などは普通名詞（言い間違い(マラプロピズム)）に転用されるほど有名になった。1776年彼は当時の二大劇場の一つドルーリー・レーンの経営陣の一員となり、『悪口学校』（1777）や、流行の感傷喜劇を風刺した『批評家』（1779）などで当たりをとった。彼の特徴は、巧妙な台詞(せりふ)と舞台効果を心得た作劇術によって感傷喜劇的な要素を薄め、かわりに一時代前の風習喜劇の哄笑(こうしょう)を復活させた点にある。1780年下院議員になり、その雄弁によって将来を期待されたが、劇場の修理や焼失で経済的に行き詰まり、1812年の選挙では落選して不幸な晩年を送った。

［中野里皓史］

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