The Critic was Sheridan's response to a very specific political and theatrical situation. In the summer of 1779, a Franco-Spanish invasion seemed imminent and patriotic fervour superseded party divisions and personal animosities. The Critic satirises the panic of the summer in the form of the comically misconceived tragedy 'The Spanish Armada' that is in rehearsal in the second and third acts, but The Critic ends with genuine patriotic feeling. This edition traces both the political and the theatrical objects of Sheridan's satire and discusses its reliance (and improvement) on earlier meta-theatrical burlesques like The Duke of Buckingham's Restoration romp The Rehearsal.
- ISBN10 1540792234
- ISBN13 9781540792235
- Publish Date 3 December 2016 (first published 9 November 1989)
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 20 April 2017
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Language English