The School for Scandal is a comedy of manners written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It was first performed in London at Drury Lane Theatre on May 8, 1777. With principal themes of "the deceptive nature of appearances, the fickleness of reputation, [and] the often disreputable guises behind which goodness and honesty can conceal itself," it has been noted that "The play remains to this day a crowd-pleaser and one of the standard repertory pieces i...
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The School for Scandal is a comedy of manners written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It was first performed in London at Drury Lane Theatre on May 8, 1777. With principal themes of "the deceptive nature of appearances, the fickleness of reputation, [and] the often disreputable guises behind which goodness and honesty can conceal itself," it has been noted that "The play remains to this day a crowd-pleaser and one of the standard repertory pieces in our dramatic literature."
The prologue, written by David Garrick, commends the play, its subject, and its author to the audience. (Garrick was Sheridan's predecessor as manager of Drury Lane.)
Scene I: Lady Sneerwell, a wealthy young widow, and her hireling Snake discuss her various scandal-spreading plots. Snake asks why she is so involved in the affairs of Sir Peter Teazle, his ward Maria, and Charles and Joseph Surface, two young men under Sir Peter's informal guardianship, and why she has not yielded to the attentions of Joseph, who is...
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