1710+Gomez


 * 1710: //The Tatler// and //The Force of Friendship; or Love In A Chest//**
 * Background**

Richard Steele first published //The Tatler// on April 12, 1709 and it ran through January 2, 1711 three times a week. During the two short years //The Tatler// ran, Steele took a different approach on this British journal than was typical of the times. Steele was one of the first writers to adopt a stage name; Steele was known as Isaac Bickerstaff. Along with the assistance of his good friend Joseph Addison, Steele started //The Tatler// as a journal discussing political news and opinions while also incorporating aspects of the arts in England. //The Tatler// did not remain under the description of most literary journals at the time for very long. Steele began using his journal as a way to publicize gossip and local news in London while Addison continued to incorporate literary essays and pieces. In order to obtain first hand sources, Steele wrote on the gossip that took place within London coffee shops. //The Tatler// came to an end in early January of 1711. Throughout 1710. much of the content in the journal had to do with controversy surrounding the Tory and the Whigs. The Whigs were a political party that opposed the absolute monarchy of Great Britain and encourged an oligarchy. On the other hand, the Tory were a party who supported the monarchy. // The Tatler // discussed the two parties from the perspective of wealthy men and women who spent their time in coffee shops discussing the controversy. In ad dition to this, Steele incorporated his own opinions of the matter and responded to critiques of his writings; all done under the persona of Isaac Bickerstaff. In 1710, the Whigs lost to the Tories in the polls and therefore the reign of the Whig party came was coming to a demise. Joseph Addison, who held a seat in Irish government, found himself without a job and dedicating more time to running // The Tatler // with Richard Steele. However, the journal slowly came to an end when one of their writers, Jonathan Swift, became involved with the Tory leaders. When the journal finally ended in January, Addison moved on to create a periodical called // The Spectator // six days a week.

The Whigs were a political party made up of a group of people who were opposed to James, King Charles II's brother, succeeding to the throne because he was a Roman Catholic. On the other hand, Tory's were a political party made up of people who were in favor of this succession. The terms came about during the Exclusion Bill crisis which dates back to 1678-1681. The bill worked in favor of the Whig party's beliefs while the Tory's opposed it as they were prepared for James to become the rightful King. Whigs were typically working class and liberal people while Tory's were of higher class and much more conservative. As aforementioned, in 1710 the Whigs began to lose power to the Tory's. This resulted in inner conflicts with the writers ofThe Tatler and Richard Steele, ultimately leading to the journal's demise. The conflict between the two parties divided society, created tension and plenty of gossip for Isaac Bickerstaff. The terms whig and tory became such popular insults and identities that they carried over to New England. During the American Revolution when the colonies were attempting to break free from British rule, the loyalists whose belief remained in the crown of Great Britain were referred to as Tory's. The Whigs eventually took control in 1715 and maintained power until King George III succeeded in 1760, allowing Tory's back in. British theater season in 1710 was made up of the companies; Drury Lane, Queen's and Greenwich. It was a year made up of controversy in regards to the
 * The Whigs and Tory's**
 * Summary of Theater Season in 1710**

companies that performed several grand plays. Queen's and Drury Lane became rivals as Queen's exclusively performed operas and Drury L e was in the middle of a successful monopoly of plays. Betterton left Drury Lane for Queens with a group of actors and pleasantly surprised the community with their accomplishments at Queen's. Coming into 1710, Drury Lane was under the management of Aaron Hill who was subtly involved in theater up until this point. Both companies suffered when their audience pointed their attention to Henry Sacheverell's trial which lasted from February to March. Dr. Sacheverell was impeached following a sermon he delivered for the annual November 5th sermon in honor of the failed Gunpowder Plot. The Gunpowder Plot was a scheme planned with the goal of murdering King James I. It was Dr. Sacheverell's duty to deliver his sermon, // The Perils of False Brethren //, to a Tory audience; this enraged the Whig party because they felt it was an unfair use of Church as propaganda as well as an exploitation of Novermber 5th. As a result of this distraction in their audience, Drury Lane remained open until June, leaving Queen's to be the only company open for the summer. However almost immediately after Drury Lane closed, William Penkethman opened Greenwich which played three times a week through September of that year. Shakespeare's plays were very popular throughout this theater season in addition to Aphra Behn's play //Oroonoko// and Charles Johnson's //The Force of Friendship// once it released in May.

Charles Johnson introduced his play //The Force of Friendship// in May of 1710 as a tragedy. The play was performed by Queen's on May 1st but was soon revised and became //Love In A Chest//. Once becoming //Love In A Chest,// the play was deemed to be a tragicomedy. Tragicomedy as a genre received scrutiny from critics and audiences. //The Force of Friendship// was the second tragicomedy that Johnson introduced to London. Although the company that performed it was immensely talented (Queen's), the play overall was a failure. The play, being a tragicomedy, was a juxtaposition of both tragedy and comedy elements. This means that while the play depicted heroic events as a response to sadness and darkness, it also portrayed satirical elements with a happy ending. At the time, this was not a favorable genre for the audience; it seemed as though it was inappropriate.
 * Summary of //The Force of Friendship;// or //Love In A Chest//**

The conflict between whigs and tory's persisted throughout the early 1700's and the year 1710 was no exception. //The Tatler// capitalized on this societal issue by reporting on the gossip that took place in the streets of London. Therefore, Steele and Addison created a literary journal that would give historians insight on society at the time. This is beneficial because when researching and reporting on the past, one must assume that the culture that was perserved and passed down is not accurate. Steele and Addison provide historians with primary sources, quotes and descriptions of the place where stories flourished; London coffeeshops. It is evident that the conflict between whigs and tory's had an impact on the success and demise of //The Tatler//. One can also conclude that it influenced the success of theater season that year. Drury Lane suffered a hit from the loss of attendance due to the Sacheverell Trial. This made way for Queen's, a company who to this point was exclusively an opera house, to find success as one of the only theaters open. In addition to this, Greenwich came about and offered the audience exactly what they demanded; consistent showtimes despite the societal issues occurring at the time. Finally, the whig and tory conflict set a mood over Great Britain that did now allow for Johnson's tragicomedy genre to become successful. The audience, being people of such a tense and divided time, were not accepting of creating satire out of tragedy.
 * Conclusion**

Works Cited Hooker, Edward Niles. "Charles Johnson's "The Force of Friendship" and "Love in a Chest": A Note on Tragicomedy and Licensing in 1710." //Studies in Philology// 34.3 (1937): 407-11. Web.

"The London Stage". //The London Stage, 1680-1800, Part 2, 1700-1729: A Calendar of Plays, Entertainment and Afterpieces Together with Casts, Box-Receipts and Contemporary Comment,// Ed. Emmet L. Avery. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois UP, MCMLX. Print.

Steele, Richard, and Joseph Addison. //The Tatler// 115-191 (1710): n. pag.//18th Century Journals//. Web.

"Tryal of Dr Henry Sacheverell Before the House of Peers for High Crimes and Misdemeanours" //The Parliamentary Archives, LGC 9/2/1, //1710

W. A. Speck, ‘ [|Sacheverell, Henry (//bap//. 1674, //d//. 1724)] ', //Oxford Dictionary of National Biography//, online edn, Oxford University Press, September 2004, accessed 6 August 2010.

 [|"Whig and Tory"]. [|Encyclopædia Britannica]. July 7th, 2016.