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Excerpt

Excerpt from She Stoops to Conquer; Or, The Mistakes of a Night: A Comedy, by Oliver Goldsmith

Enter MR. WOODWARD, dressed in black, and holding a handkerchief
to his eyes.

 Excuse me, sirs, I pray--I can’t yet speak--<br />
 I’m crying now--and have been all the week.<br />
 “’Tis not alone this mourning suit,” good masters:<br />
 “I’ve that within”--for which there are no plasters!<br />
 Pray, would you know the reason why I’m crying?<br />
 The Comic Muse, long sick, is now a-dying!<br />
 And if she goes, my tears will never stop;<br />
 For as a player, I can’t squeeze out one drop:<br />
 I am undone, that’s all--shall lose my bread--<br />
 I’d rather, but that’s nothing--lose my head.<br />
 When the sweet maid is laid upon the bier,<br />
 Shuter and I shall be chief mourners here.<br />
 To her a mawkish drab of spurious breed,<br />
 Who deals in sentimentals, will succeed!<br />
 Poor Ned and I are dead to all intents;<br />
 We can as soon speak Greek as sentiments!<br />
 Both nervous grown, to keep our spirits up.<br />
 We now and then take down a hearty cup.<br />
 What shall we do?  If Comedy forsake us,<br />
 They’ll turn us out, and no one else will take us.<br />
 But why can’t I be moral?--Let me try--<br />
 My heart thus pressing--fixed my face and eye--<br />
 With a sententious look, that nothing means,<br />
 (Faces are blocks in sentimental scenes)<br />
 Thus I begin: “All is not gold that glitters,<br />
 “Pleasure seems sweet, but proves a glass of bitters.<br />
 “When Ignorance enters, Folly is at hand:<br />
 “Learning is better far than house and land.<br />
 “Let not your virtue trip; who trips may stumble,<br />
 “And virtue is not virtue, if she tumble.”

 I give it up--morals won’t do for me;<br />
 To make you laugh, I must play tragedy.<br />
 One hope remains--hearing the maid was ill,<br />
 A Doctor comes this night to show his skill.<br />
 To cheer her heart, and give your muscles motion,<br />
 He, in Five Draughts prepar’d, presents a potion:<br />
 A kind of magic charm--for be assur’d,<br />
 If you will swallow it, the maid is cur’d:<br />
 But desperate the Doctor, and her case is,<br />
 If you reject the dose, and make wry faces!<br />
 This truth he boasts, will boast it while he lives,<br />
 No poisonous drugs are mixed in what he gives.<br />
 Should he succeed, you’ll give him his degree;<br />
 If not, within he will receive no fee!<br />
 The College YOU, must his pretensions back,<br />
 Pronounce him Regular, or dub him Quack.

Explanation

Detailed Explanation of the Excerpt from She Stoops to Conquer

Context of the Play

She Stoops to Conquer; Or, The Mistakes of a Night (1773) is a comedy of manners by Oliver Goldsmith, a key figure in 18th-century English literature. The play satirizes the affectations of polite society, particularly the sentimental comedy (a melodramatic, morally didactic style popular at the time) and the pretensions of the upper class. The excerpt is from the Prologue, delivered by Mr. Woodward, a real-life actor of the period, who plays a fictionalized version of himself—a melancholic comedian lamenting the decline of true comedy.

Goldsmith wrote the play in part as a defense of laughter and farce against the rising tide of sentimental drama, which he saw as overly moralistic and unnatural. The Prologue serves as a meta-theatrical commentary, blending humor with a serious critique of contemporary theater.

Breakdown of the Excerpt

1. The Actor’s Lament (Lines 1-12)

"Excuse me, sirs, I pray--I can’t yet speak-- I’m crying now--and have been all the week. ‘Tis not alone this mourning suit,’ good masters: ‘I’ve that within’--for which there are no plasters!"

Tone & Irony: Woodward enters in mock grief, wearing black (traditional mourning) and clutching a handkerchief. His exaggerated sorrow is theatrical, setting up the satirical tone of the Prologue.
"I’ve that within": A parody of Hamlet’s "I have that within which passeth show" (Act 1, Scene 2), where Hamlet laments his inner turmoil. Here, Woodward comically misapplies the line—his "pain" is not existential but professional: the death of Comedy.
"No plasters": A medical metaphor—his grief cannot be healed by ordinary remedies (or, by extension, by the sentimental dramas that dominate the stage).

"Pray, would you know the reason why I’m crying? The Comic Muse, long sick, is now a-dying!"

Personification: The "Comic Muse" (the spirit of comedy) is dying, symbolizing the decline of true humor in theater.
Historical Context: Goldsmith is critiquing the shift from Restoration comedy (witty, bawdy, farcical) to sentimental comedy (moralistic, tearful, didactic). Plays like The Conscious Lovers (1722) by Richard Steele replaced laughter with weepy moral lessons.

"And if she goes, my tears will never stop; For as a player, I can’t squeeze out one drop: I am undone, that’s all--shall lose my bread--I’d rather, but that’s nothing--lose my head."

Double Meaning:
- "Can’t squeeze out one drop": As a comic actor, Woodward cannot force tears (unlike sentimental actors who specialize in melodramatic weeping).
- "Lose my bread": He will lose his livelihood if comedy dies.
- "Lose my head": A gallows humor reference—if he can’t act, he might as well be executed (or, metaphorically, his career is dead).

"When the sweet maid is laid upon the bier, Shuter and I shall be chief mourners here."

Reference to Real Actors:
- Edward "Ned" Shuter was a famous comic actor of the time, known for his physical humor (similar to Woodward).
- The two represent the old guard of comedy, mourning the death of farce at the hands of sentimental drama.

"To her a mawkish drab of spurious breed, Who deals in sentimentals, will succeed!"

"Mawkish drab": A derogatory term for the new sentimental drama—Goldsmith sees it as fake, overly emotional, and inferior.
"Spurious breed": Suggests that sentimental comedy is not true art but a bastardized form of theater.

"Poor Ned and I are dead to all intents; We can as soon speak Greek as sentiments!"

"Speak Greek": A reference to classical tragedy (Greek plays were often moralistic and serious). Woodward and Shuter are incapable of sentimental acting—their strength is in farce and physical comedy.
"Nervous grown": They are anxious about their futures, so they drink to cope ("take down a hearty cup").

2. The Failed Moralizing (Lines 13-20)

"But why can’t I be moral?--Let me try--My heart thus pressing--fixed my face and eye--With a sententious look, that nothing means,"

Satire of Sentimental Drama:
- Woodward attempts to adopt the style of sentimental comedy, but it comes across as empty and ridiculous.
- "Sententious look, that nothing means": The moralizing expressions of sentimental actors are hollow—they look profound but say nothing.

"(Faces are blocks in sentimental scenes)"

Metatheatrical Joke:
- "Blocks": Refers to wooden blocks used in acting exercises (or, figuratively, expressionless faces).
- Sentimental actors over-emote with blank stares, lacking the vitality of true comedy.

"Thus I begin: ‘All is not gold that glitters, ‘Pleasure seems sweet, but proves a glass of bitters. ‘When Ignorance enters, Folly is at hand: ‘Learning is better far than house and land. ‘Let not your virtue trip; who trips may stumble, ‘And virtue is not virtue, if she tumble.’"

Parody of Moralizing Dialogue:
- These lines mimic the clichéd aphorisms of sentimental plays.
- "All is not gold that glitters": A proverb (from Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice), but here it’s trite and forced.
- "Virtue is not virtue, if she tumble": A puritanical warning—sentimental plays often preached against moral failings in a heavy-handed way.
- The rhyming couplets make it sound artificial and stiff, unlike the natural wit of comedy.

"I give it up--morals won’t do for me; To make you laugh, I must play tragedy."

Final Admission of Failure:
- Woodward cannot perform sentimental drama—it’s against his nature as a comic actor.
- "Play tragedy": Ironically, the only way to make people laugh now is to act in a tragedy (because the audience is so used to melodrama that farce seems fresh).

3. The Doctor’s Remedy (Lines 21-30)

"One hope remains--hearing the maid was ill, A Doctor comes this night to show his skill. To cheer her heart, and give your muscles motion, He, in Five Draughts prepar’d, presents a potion:"

Extended Metaphor:
- The "Comic Muse" is a sick patient, and Goldsmith (the "Doctor") is offering a cure.
- "Five Draughts": Refers to the five acts of She Stoops to Conquer, which Goldsmith presents as a remedy for the ailing theater.

"A kind of magic charm--for be assur’d, If you will swallow it, the maid is cur’d: But desperate the Doctor, and her case is, If you reject the dose, and make wry faces!"

Audience’s Role:
- The success of the play depends on the audience’s willingness to embrace laughter ("swallow the dose").
- If they reject it ("make wry faces"), the Comic Muse will die, and farce will be lost.

"This truth he boasts, will boast it while he lives, No poisonous drugs are mixed in what he gives. Should he succeed, you’ll give him his degree; If not, within he will receive no fee!"

"No poisonous drugs": Goldsmith assures the audience that his play is harmless fun, not the moral poison of sentimental drama.
"Give him his degree": If the play succeeds, Goldsmith will be recognized as a true playwright ("Regular").
"Dub him Quack": If it fails, he’ll be dismissed as a fraud ("Quack"), like a charlatan doctor.

"The College YOU, must his pretensions back, Pronounce him Regular, or dub him Quack."

"The College": The audience is the judge—they decide whether Goldsmith’s play is legitimate theater or hackwork.
Final Appeal: The Prologue ends with a direct challenge—will the audience embrace comedy or reject it in favor of sentimentality?

Key Themes

Defense of Comedy vs. Sentimental Drama
- Goldsmith champions laughter and farce over moralizing melodrama.
- The Comic Muse is dying because audiences prefer tears to humor.
The Actor’s Plight
- Woodward and Shuter represent traditional comic actors who are being phased out by the new style.
- Their livelihood depends on the survival of comedy.
Meta-Theatricality
- The Prologue breaks the fourth wall, directly addressing the audience about the state of theater.
- It blurs the line between fiction and reality (Woodward plays himself, Goldsmith writes as a "Doctor").
Satire of Pretension
- The sentimental style is mocked as fake, hollow, and unnatural.
- The moralizing dialogue is exposed as clichéd and forced.
Audience Responsibility
- The success of the play (and of comedy itself) depends on the audience’s reception.
- They must choose between genuine laughter and artificial sentiment.

Literary Devices

Device	Example	Effect
Personification	"The Comic Muse, long sick, is now a-dying!"	Makes the decline of comedy tangible and emotional.
Metaphor	"Faces are blocks in sentimental scenes"	Critiques the wooden, unnatural acting of sentimental drama.
Parody	"All is not gold that glitters / Pleasure seems sweet, but proves a glass of bitters"	Mocks the clichéd moralizing of sentimental plays.
Irony	"To make you laugh, I must play tragedy"	Highlights the absurdity of the theater’s shift away from comedy.
Allusion	"I’ve that within" (Hamlet)	Elevates Woodward’s grief to tragic proportions, but comically.
Direct Address	"Pray, would you know the reason why I’m crying?"	Engages the audience, making them complicit in the debate.
Extended Metaphor	The "Doctor" and "potion" (the play itself)	Frames She Stoops to Conquer as a cure for a sick theater.

Significance of the Excerpt

A Manifesto for Comedy
- Goldsmith defends farce and wit against the rising tide of sentimentalism.
- The Prologue sets the tone for the play, which is a return to laughter and mistaken identities (a staple of Restoration comedy).
Historical Critique
- It reflects the 18th-century debate between laughter and morality in theater.
- Goldsmith sides with the tradition of Shakespeare and Jonson over the new, weepy dramas.
Meta-Theatrical Brilliance
- By having Woodward (a real actor) play himself, Goldsmith blurs reality and fiction, making the critique more personal and urgent.
- The failed moralizing section is a masterclass in satire—it exposes the hollowness of sentimental drama by performing it badly.
Audience Challenge
- The Prologue dares the audience to laugh and reject the dominant trend.
- It positions the play as a test—will they embrace comedy or cling to sentiment?
Legacy
- She Stoops to Conquer revived the comedy of manners and influenced later playwrights (including Sheridan).
- The Prologue remains a classic example of theatrical self-awareness, satire, and defense of artistic integrity.

Conclusion: Why This Matters

This excerpt is not just an introduction—it’s a battle cry for comedy. Goldsmith, through Woodward, laments the death of laughter in theater but offers his play as the antidote. The humor, irony, and directness of the Prologue set the stage for a play that delights in mistakes, misunderstandings, and merriment—all while mocking the very audience that might resist it.

In essence, Goldsmith doesn’t just ask the audience to watch a comedy—he demands they defend it. The Prologue is both a plea and a provocation, ensuring that She Stoops to Conquer is not just a play, but a statement on the nature of theater itself.

Questions

Question 1

The "potion" in the Doctor’s remedy most fundamentally symbolises:

A. The audience’s willingness to suspend disbelief in farcical plots.
B. A nostalgic return to the bawdy humour of Restoration comedy.
C. The playwright’s desperate bid for critical validation from elite patrons.
D. The artificiality of sentimental drama’s moral prescriptions.
E. The play itself as a curative intervention in a stagnant theatrical tradition.

Question 2

Woodward’s failed attempt at moralising ("All is not gold that glitters...") primarily serves to:

A. Expose the audience’s hypocrisy in claiming to prefer virtue over entertainment.
B. Demonstrate the incompatibility between comic talent and didactic sentiment.
C. Parody the syntactic rigidity of neoclassical poetic conventions.
D. Reveal the actor’s latent capacity for tragic gravitas.
E. Critique the economic precarity of 18th-century players.

Question 3

The line "Faces are blocks in sentimental scenes" is most effectively interpreted as:

A. An indictment of actors’ over-reliance on static facial expressions in melodrama.
B. A metatheatrical jab at the wooden, unnatural performances demanded by moralistic plays.
C. A literal reference to the use of masks in classical tragedy.
D. A confession of Woodward’s own limitations as a physical comedian.
E. A critique of the audience’s emotional detachment from the stage.

Question 4

The Prologue’s closing couplet ("Pronounce him Regular, or dub him Quack") derives its rhetorical force from:

A. The audience’s presumed familiarity with medical licensing disputes.
B. The tension between artistic innovation and traditional generic expectations.
C. A veiled threat to expose rival playwrights as frauds.
D. The framing of theatrical reception as a collective act of professional certification.
E. The implication that comedy’s survival depends on the playwright’s personal reputation.

Question 5

The most precise description of the Prologue’s overarching tone is:

A. Mock-elegiac, blending exaggerated lament with satirical detachment.
B. Didactic, instructing the audience in the proper appreciation of comic art.
C. Nostalgic, longing for a lost golden age of theatrical purity.
D. Defiant, openly challenging the dominance of sentimental drama.
E. Resigned, accepting the inevitable decline of farce with wry humour.

Solutions and Explanations

1) Correct answer: E

Why E is most correct: The "potion" is explicitly tied to the "Five Draughts" (the play’s five acts) and positioned as a "magic charm" to cure the ailing Comic Muse. Goldsmith frames She Stoops to Conquer as a therapeutic corrective to the "sick" state of contemporary theatre, where sentimental drama has stifled genuine comedy. The metaphor extends to the audience’s role as "College" (arbiters of taste) who must validate the remedy. This aligns with the passage’s prescriptive urgency—the play is not just entertainment but a deliberate intervention to revive a dying tradition.