Republican novels, anyone? (Not that kind of Republican)
September 20, 2011 2:48 AM Subscribe
What are some anti-monarchist novels or plays?
Hello! I'm working on a project and trying to find some novels or plays that either explicitly or subtly critique the monarchy, or a monarchial form of government. No restrictions as to setting or time period. Any ideas? Thanks!
Hello! I'm working on a project and trying to find some novels or plays that either explicitly or subtly critique the monarchy, or a monarchial form of government. No restrictions as to setting or time period. Any ideas? Thanks!
Middleton's A Game At Chess is an early, at-the-time-scandalous example. No criticism of the system of monarchy, but plenty of thinly-veiled opposition to the current monarch's actions.
posted by piato at 3:55 AM on September 20, 2011
posted by piato at 3:55 AM on September 20, 2011
Tom Stoppard's The Coast of Utopia was quite good.
posted by colin_l at 5:26 AM on September 20, 2011
posted by colin_l at 5:26 AM on September 20, 2011
You probably already know it, but Beaumarchais' The Marriage of Figaro is a classic example; after hearing a reading of the play at court, Louis XVI was so appalled he declared the play would never be performed. 3 years and a half-dozen runs at the censors later, it opened to huge popular acclaim.
There's lots of fairly direct social criticism in the play (most of which was muted in the Mozart/Da Ponte opera version), but this bit from Figaro's big monologue in Act Five gives the flavor:
No, My Lord Count, you shan't have her, you shall not have her! Because you are a great nobleman you think you are a great genius....Nobility, fortune, rank, position! How proud they make a man feel! What have you done to deserve such advantages? Put yourself to the trouble of being born - nothing more!
Beaumarchais' earlier play The Barber of Seville has similar but more veiled criticisms.
posted by mediareport at 6:09 AM on September 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
There's lots of fairly direct social criticism in the play (most of which was muted in the Mozart/Da Ponte opera version), but this bit from Figaro's big monologue in Act Five gives the flavor:
No, My Lord Count, you shan't have her, you shall not have her! Because you are a great nobleman you think you are a great genius....Nobility, fortune, rank, position! How proud they make a man feel! What have you done to deserve such advantages? Put yourself to the trouble of being born - nothing more!
Beaumarchais' earlier play The Barber of Seville has similar but more veiled criticisms.
posted by mediareport at 6:09 AM on September 20, 2011 [1 favorite]
The Golden Rump (a) Explicitly criticized the monarchy under George II, (b) Resulted in legislative clampdown on the theater, (c) may have been written by a titan of English letters, and (d) may or may not exist.
posted by pH Indicating Socks at 6:11 AM on September 20, 2011
A bibliography of treason is an article which might interest you.
The classic is Thomas Paine's Common Sense in Verse
from wiki - Advocates for Republicanism in the UK features plenty of living writers.
posted by adamvasco at 6:12 AM on September 20, 2011
The classic is Thomas Paine's Common Sense in Verse
from wiki - Advocates for Republicanism in the UK features plenty of living writers.
posted by adamvasco at 6:12 AM on September 20, 2011
Response by poster: Wow! Thanks everyone -- these are terrific!
posted by caoimhe at 6:25 AM on September 20, 2011
posted by caoimhe at 6:25 AM on September 20, 2011
A Man for All Seasons is certainly anti-authoritarian and does not paint the monarchy in the best light. The movie version is fantastic.
posted by bookgirl18 at 7:06 AM on September 20, 2011
posted by bookgirl18 at 7:06 AM on September 20, 2011
All of Verdi's operas.
posted by BobbyDigital at 7:31 AM on September 20, 2011
posted by BobbyDigital at 7:31 AM on September 20, 2011
I guess on these are examples on the subtle side--Shakespeare plays where scenes were censored, though the plays are not really political at all. Richard II portrays the deposing of a monarch, and some scenes seem to have got censored because authorities thought they were too provocative--I think they appear in the early Quarto edition but are missing from the later Folio and modern editors assume it's a case of political censorship. Along the same lines, in Henry IV part 2, which portrays a rebellion against another king, there's a speech that one of the characters gives, outlining the justification for choosing to rebel against the king, and that speech is missing from the later Folio edition, perhaps censored because the presentation of such reasoning was deemed too potentially subversive.
posted by Paquda at 7:37 AM on September 20, 2011
posted by Paquda at 7:37 AM on September 20, 2011
A bit off the beaten path, but anti-monarchism is a pretty strong thread through the Watch subseries of Discworld, especially Night Watch.
posted by kmz at 9:07 AM on September 20, 2011
posted by kmz at 9:07 AM on September 20, 2011
I was coming in to suggest Terry Pratchett as well - but specifically Guards, Guards!, which has a king come to Ankh-Morpork.
(I don't know Pratchett's own feelings on monarchy, but his characters argue about it well).
posted by jb at 9:51 AM on September 20, 2011
(I don't know Pratchett's own feelings on monarchy, but his characters argue about it well).
posted by jb at 9:51 AM on September 20, 2011
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posted by Tylwyth Teg at 3:29 AM on September 20, 2011