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The Rivals | Prologues 1–2 | Summary 1775

Preface- Summary

Richard Brinsley Sheridan begins his preface by stating that this feature in a published play is
generally considered a "closet-prologue" and is regarded by an audience as unnecessary and
intrusive when the performance is well-received. However, Sheridan admits that The Rivals was
"condemned in the performance." He says that the harsh criticisms "ought not to pass unnoticed" by
him, and in this case, the play requires a preface. Sheridan goes on to say that he promptly withdrew
the play after its poor review to revise its imperfections.

Sheridan admits his inexperience with writing drama and points out that The Rivals is his first play.
He warmly credits Thomas Harris, the manager of Covent Garden Theatre, for helping him trim the
play. Sheridan admits that the original version of the play was "double the length of any acting
comedy" when he first dropped it off to Harris. Sheridan believes that he "profited by [Harris's]
judgment and experience in the curtailing of it." Still, he thinks that Harris, who did not want to
discourage a young, budding dramatist, let many errors go. Sheridan also pleads an honorable
motive for some of his more unconventional strokes and excesses: he was anxious, he says, to avoid
unintentional plagiarism.

Next Sheridan mentions that some of his allies have attributed the initial failure of the play to malice
rather than "severity of criticism." He waxes moralistic, pronouncing that "no passion suffers more
than malice from disappointment." He then belittles "little puny critics" for their "peevish strictures."
Sheridan goes on to address the critics who accuse him of "intending any national reflection" in his
characterization of Sir Lucius O'Trigger, and he denies the charge. In closing the preface, Sheridan
declares that he feels confident that would-be playwrights will profit from the "candor and liberal
attention" of the public at Covent Garden.

Analysis

Sheridan's The Rivals was first performed on January 17, 1775, at the Convent Garden in London.
Unfortunately, the performance received terrible reviews; so horrible, in fact, that Sheridan
immediately rescinded the script and revised it. To accomplish this goal, Sheridan used the very
media that had subjected him to severe criticism only 11 days earlier. According to Sheridan's text
and information compiled by critics and scholars, there were three main issues with the premiere
performance: (a) the inordinate length of the play (the first performance ran four hours); (b)
Sheridan's penchant for what one critic called "low quibbles and barbarous puns"; and (c) the
character of Sir Lucius O'Trigger, which was thought to be stereotyped and offensive. Eleven days
after its first performance, The Rivals returned to the stage with a runtime 45 minutes shorter and a
meeker Sir Lucius O'Trigger. The play was better received, and in subsequent revisions, Sheridan
edited the runtime down even more. Sheridan's purpose for including the preface is to explain to the
audience the steps he promptly took to revise the drama and reverse its fortunes with the public.

Although Sheridan crafts his preface elegantly, the preface gives the impression of being concerned
with tone and image rather than with specifics. Sheridan is eager to establish himself as a well-
meaning novice, willing and able to learn from the wisdom of the public. He asserts trust in the
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judgment and impartiality of his audience—an assertion that may appear somewhat disingenuous
when he later devotes space to considering whether his play failed because of malice.

Sheridan's preface should be supplemented by further inquiry that compares the original version of
the play, which has survived in a manuscript copy, with the revised version. Even after the pruning
that Sheridan carried out with Thomas Harris, the premiere of the play lasted a full hour longer than
any other stage play of the time. Whereas verbal blunders are committed by a number of characters
in the original version, including Mrs. Malaprop, Sir Lucius, Bob Acres, and Fag, they are entirely
restricted to Mrs. Malaprop in the revised version. And Mrs. Malaprop herself is toned down: for
example, her line about Sir Lucius in Act 5, Scene 3, a worry that he might "perforate my mystery,"
was changed to "dissolve my mystery."

Some critics harshly criticized the character of Sir Lucius O'Trigger, seeing his characterization as a
jab from Sheridan at anti-Irish sentiment. Though Sheridan strictly denied this judgment, he
thoroughly reshaped the role of the character in subsequent editions of the play. In Sheridan's time,
anti-Irish sentiment in England was rife, and it continued throughout the 19th century. The Irish
were commonly stereotyped as violent, stupid, and alcoholic. The prejudice that the English had
toward the Irish people was deep-rooted, extending back to the 12th-century reign of King Henry II
of England (1133–89), when the Irish were regarded as pagan and barbaric.

In the end Sheridan concerns himself with proprieties in the preface. As one editor remarks, "His
play's initial failure had given Sheridan a bracing lesson in the decorum the Georgian playhouse
required its playwrights to observe."

Prologue 1

The prologue begins with a dialogue between an attorney and a serjeant-at-law. The attorney
presents the serjeant with a brief, wishing him to read it in front of the court on a poet's behalf. The
serjeant-at-law quickly says that he cannot read the illegible handwriting without his spectacles. The
attorney understands this to mean that the serjeant wants money, so the attorney bribes him, and
suddenly, the serjeant finds the handwriting legible. After some bantering back and forth about their
legal positions, the attorney leaves the stage, and the serjeant-at-law introduces The Rivals to the
court of public opinion, the audience. The court, in its wisdom, should consider that any faults the
client may possess are minor and non-injurious. The worst that can be said about him is that he
made a bad attempt to please. The speaker is confident that the verdict will be fair.

Prologue 2

A woman speaker enters and declares that the serjeant from Prologue 1 is no longer required
because he supported the playwright, while she speaks for the Muse. She then proceeds to invoke
the two faces of theater. First she addresses the Muse of Comedy: she is a flirtatious and witty young
woman who cannot be expected to preach to an audience. The speaker then emphatically
distinguishes the comic Muse from the sentimental muse, who blurs the line with tragedy. She then
addresses the Muse of Tragedy who will "snatch the dagger from her sister's hand" and end the
Muse's comedy in blood.

Analysis
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The first prologue served as the opening to the failed first performance of The Rivals on January 17,
1775, and is divided between two male actors: in the original version, Mr. Woodward was played by
the actor who played Captain Jack Absolute; Mr. Quick was played by the actor playing Bob Acres.

The first half of the prologue features a dialogue, while the second takes the form of a monologue in
rhymed couplets. In the first half the speakers assume the roles of an attorney and a serjeant-at-law
(sometimes sergeant) who was a barrister, or lawyer, of high rank. Serjeants played an important
role in the English legal system from the 14th century to the mid-19th century and were appointed
by the king to plead cases before the Court of Common Pleas, England's common law court.

In The Rivals, both the serjeant and attorney develop a legal conceit, or extended figure of speech, in
which the serjeant will plead the client's case before a jury. Their client is the playwright, while the
jury is the audience. The extended conceit includes an ongoing series of contrasts between poets
—"sons of Phoebus"—and lawyers, who in addition to their bewigged comfort, earn far more than
poets and are far less likely to end up in a London debtors prison called the Fleet. Lurking beneath
the pleasantries here is the biographical fact that Sheridan had come to London to study law.

The second prologue was spoken by the actress playing Julia Melville. This prologue introduced the
revised version of the play on which public judgment had been reversed a mere 11 days after the ill-
fated premiere of the comedy.

Like the two versions of the play proper, the two prologues are quite different in tone and structure.
Prologue 1 is awkwardly constructed, with the two speakers assuming temporary "roles" that are
unrelated to their roles in the play. A somewhat ungainly legal conceit dominates the piece, and
jesting remarks about the two figures' legal fees distract from the main point. Sheridan's intention
for the prologue is to make an appeal to the audience to for its judgment and does not reveal
anything about the play's plot.

Prologue 2 is far more coherent, although it demands some background for understanding. The most
relevant context is the conflict between "laughing" and "sentimental" comedy, a clash discussed at
length by Oliver Goldsmith in his "Essay on the Theatre, or A Comparison Between Laughing and
Sentimental Comedy" (1773). In his essay, Goldsmith disparaged the popular trend of sentimental
comedy, maintaining that true comedy inspires laughter, not tears or pity.

The Rivals | Act 1, Scene 1 | Summary

The play opens in Bath, England, with two servants, Fag and Thomas, meeting on a city street. When
Thomas asks about Captain Jack Absolute, Fag discloses that he no longer serves the Captain; his
new employer is Ensign Beverley, Captain Jack's new persona. Fag then explains to a perplexed
Thomas that the Captain has taken on this the fictitious identity of a poor solider to carry on a
courtship with the heiress Lydia Languish, who has "very singular taste" for suitors of a humble
station. He reveals that "a tough old aunt" of Lydia's—Mrs. Malaprop—lies in the way of the affair;
however, this aunt has met neither the Captain nor the ensign.

The conversation then turns to life in Bath, and Fag gives a rundown of the daily routine in the city,
which involves a morning visit to the Pump Room, where there is a spa; an afternoon stroll on the
Parades; and dancing, sometimes followed by a private party in the evening. Fag advises Thomas to
polish his style a bit; for example, wigs are now distinctly out of fashion, but Thomas refuses to give
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up his. Then the two spot the Captain with Lucy, who is Lydia Languish's maid. He is handing Lucy
money. Thomas declares that the action is odd and then bids Fag farewell, and Fag invites Thomas to
meet him for a little party later in the evening.

Analysis

This brief scene, loaded with exposition, moves at a lively pace. The two servants contrast in
personality. Fag, who is Captain Jack Absolute's servant, is sophisticated and witty, and Thomas, Sir
Anthony's coachman, is naïve and unpolished. The most important plot disclosure is that Captain
Jack Absolute and Ensign Beverley are one and the same person. But the scene also functions to
provide a view of the play's setting, the fashionable resort of Bath. Fag manages to offer a concise
summary with his description of the daily rounds, even as he hints that the sameness of it all may
induce boredom and frustration.

The Rivals | Act 1, Scene 2 | Summary

Lydia Lanquish and her maid Lucy are in the lodgings of Mrs. Malaprop, Lydia's aunt and guardian.
They are discussing sentimental novels that Lucy has been on an unsuccessful quest for at the local
circulating library. Soon Julia Melville comes to call. Lydia tells her cousin that her aunt intercepted
her last love letter to Ensign Beverley and has banished her to her chamber as punishment, even
though she has taken up her own correspondence with an Irish baronet whom she has "fallen
absolutely in love with." Lydia says that her aunt's discovery of "her own frailty" has made her aunt
"more suspicious" of Lydia's. What's worse, Lydia reveals, is that she had begun a pretend quarrel
with Beverley and has not been able to "make it up" because her aunt punished her the next day.
Julia reassures Lydia that the ensign will never give her up that easily if he is as sincere as Lydia has
made him out to be. Still, Julia asks the extremely rich heiress if she would really marry someone so
poor and low-rank as Beverley. Lydia says she would rather marry a man who is poor and who
doesn't care that she had given up a hefty sum of her fortune to be with him. However, Julia does
not believe this to be the truth.

The conversation turns to Julia's courtship with Faulkland, who teases Julia endlessly. Julia reveals
that she and Faukland announced their engagement to her father before he had passed away. When
asked if she still would have still loved Faulkland if he had not saved her from drowning, she says yes,
she has loved him before. Upon the approach of Mrs. Malaprop and Sir Anthony Absolute, Lydia
urgently orders Lucy to hide the volumes that might be considered controversial or offensive, leaving
only didactic collections such as Lord Chesterfield's Letters open to view.

Both Sir Anthony and Mrs. Malaprop are ignorant of the fact that Ensign Beverley is really Jack
Absolute. Both seniors, extremely traditionally, consider any liaison between Lydia and the ensign
unacceptable, and Mrs. Malaprop orders her niece to cease contact with him at once. Sir Anthony
attributes Lydia's contrary behavior to books and reading. He advises Mrs. Malaprop to treat Lydia
with the utmost severity. However, the two are attempting to arrange a marriage between Lydia and
the Captain.
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At the end of the scene, Lucy the maid delivers a monologue, gleefully celebrating the earnings she
has accumulated from delivering, and sometimes misdirecting, love messages from one character to
another.

Analysis

The opening dialogue between Lydia Languish and Lucy about books and circulating libraries
underlines how popular the pastime of reading sentimental literature was during the period.
Sentimental novels exploited the reader's capacity for tenderness or sympathy by revealing an
unrealistic view of its subject. The genre was en vogue (in fashion) with wealthy women such as
Lydia, who did not have much to do. Popular titles within the genre include Oliver Goldsmith's The
Vicar of Wakefield (1766) and Henry Mackenzie's Man of Feeling (1771). Sheridan includes a few
titles from the genre in his script; notably, all the books except one mentioned in the scene have
been positively identified by literary historians.

Lydia's confession to Julia Melville that she had written a fictitious letter imputing flirtatious behavior
to Ensign Beverley is humorous but also mildly disturbing. Lydia wants to upset a romance that so
obviously appeals to her for the simple reason that the two have never quarreled. Readers are left to
wonder if she employed this deception out of boredom or if she wanted to see how Beverley would
react to an unsubstantiated accusation. At the very least, perhaps Lydia pulled this trick straight out
of one of the sentimental novels she read. It seems that Lydia harbors a melodramatic and rather
eccentric set of assumptions about romance. With the incident, Sheridan comically points out to
readers that deception exists on both sides of a relationship, no matter how inconsequential the act
of deception may seem.

The most striking segment of the scene involves Sir Anthony Absolute and Mrs. Malaprop. Both are
opinionated, authoritarian, older characters who enjoy sway over the younger ones, Jack Absolute
and Lydia Languish, respectively. Both Sir Anthony and Mrs. Malaprop are given to extravagant turns
of phrase, made more memorable in Mrs. Malaprop's case by humorous errors in diction. It is clear
at the outset that neither older character will brook any challenge to authority.

Hyperbole or exaggeration is Sheridan's most effective device when it comes to exploiting

apparently unpleasant personalities for humor, as is the case with Sir Anthony's speech. For
example, Sir Anthony says, "Had I a thousand daughters, by heaven, I'd as soon have taught them
the black art as their alphabet!" This outburst occurs in the course of a rant against teaching girls
and women to read. Sir Anthony's outlandish views on the subject of reading must have entertained
Sheridan's audience, even as they probably had a living memory of the use of enforced illiteracy as a
means of repression.

As for Mrs. Malaprop, Sheridan's preferred strategy is the verbal blunder now known
as malapropism. The character's lexical mistakes might be likened to "near misses," and are a
consistent source of merriment.

Lucy's concluding monologue strongly tinges the scene with irony, as she plays repeatedly on the
noun simplicity. Apparently of lower rank, she is making a tidy sum from the weaknesses and whims
of her "superiors," who wrongly equate her rank with her intelligence.
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The Rivals | Act 2, Scene 1 | Summary

The setting is Captain Jack Absolute's lodgings in Bath. In the opening dialogue between Jack
Absolute and his servant Fag, the latter informs his master that Sir Anthony Absolute is surprised
that his son is in Bath. Fag promises that he has been discreet as to the purpose of Captain Jack's
presence in the city, not telling a soul about it—not even Thomas the coachman. He asks Jack to give
him a lie he may use from this point forward as to why his master is in Bath, so that he "may lie a
little consistently." He tells that he spread about the news that Jack Absolute is in Bath for
"recruiting" (i.e., military or professional) purposes, and Absolute resolves that "recruiting" should
be the lie. Fag exits to retrieve Faulkland.

Faulkland enters, and first, the two men discuss Absolute's affair with Lydia. The Captain reveals that
he has not seen Lydia since their "quarrel," and Faulkland suggests that Absolute and Lydia elope.
Absolute does not want Lydia to lose her fortune and would rather prepare her gradually for who he
really is. Then the conversation turns to Faulkland and his courtship of  Julia Melville. Faulkland
seems anxious and depressed and refuses to join Absolute and others for dinner. He reveals he
worries over Julia's health when they are apart, and Captain Absolute surprises Faulkland with the
news that Julia is in Bath. Fag reenters and announces that Bob Acres, an oaf from the countryside,
has arrived. Absolute laughs about how Acres, Beverley's rival, complains about the ensign to his
face.

Acres enters, and Faulkland becomes distressed upon learning from him that Julia has been all
"Health! Spirit! Laugh! Song! Dance!" in his absence, while he has been so depressed. Faulkland
leaves in a huff. Acres goes on to preen himself on his newly acquired, fashionable hairstyle that he
hopes will win Lydia's heart. He vows that when he finds his rival Beverley, he will show him who is
boss. Absolute comments on Acres "genteel" swear words. After Acres exits, Sir Absolute and Jack
discuss Jack's future. Sir Anthony tells Jack that he is prepared to settle a substantial inheritance on
the young man, but only on the condition that Jack follows his father's directions in his choice of a
wife. When Jack seems hesitant, Sir Anthony becomes highly irritated and exits in a huff.

Analysis

This scene introduces several new characters, including Jack Absolute, Faulkland, and Bob Acres.
Faulkland's conversation with Jack Absolute makes a significant contribution to the theme of love
and excess. Readers may guess that Faulkland indulges in the sentimental novels popular with
wealthy, home-bodied women of the time, with his belief that love should cause its participants to
suffer when two lovers are apart. Faulkland has been sulking in Julia's absence, while Julia has been
enjoying life, and this causes Faulkland to question whether Julia truly loves him.

The comic core of the scene is Sir Anthony's conversation with Jack. In Act 1, the audience was
shown Sir Anthony's authoritarian personality; now, he dominates his son in a manner that distinctly
recalls Mrs. Malaprop's domination of Lydia Languish in Act 1. The scene is full of verbal and
situational irony. For example, Sir Anthony attributes "the patience of a saint" to himself and that his
goal is to affiance his son to Lydia Languish—the same young lady that Jack has wanted to court all
along and whom he has been wooing under the guise of Ensign Beverley.
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Sheridan addresses the theme of deception throughout the scene. First, Jack and Fag decide on a
consistent lie to explain why Jack is in Bath, yet Fag deceives Jack when he says that he has not
revealed to Thomas a word about his fictitious identity and love affair with Lydia. Jack admits
deception with revealing that he finds it comical that Acres makes fun of Beverley to his own face,
not realizing that it is ultimately Jack who is his rival. Acres himself attempts to deceive others with
his new look and "genteel" way of swearing, thinking that carrying himself in such a "fashionable"
manner will cause others to think he is sophisticated. Lastly, Sir Anthony deceives his son, at first, by
revealing his inheritance, but failing to mention right away that he is securing a wife—who happens
to be Lydia—for his son.

The Rivals | Act 2, Scene 2 | Summary

In this scene the maid Lucy opens the action by preparing to deliver another love letter—in this case,
a sweet greeting from "Delia" to Sir Lucius O'Trigger. Sir Lucius believes that Delia is Lydia Languish,
but the real author of the letter is Mrs. Malaprop, who has developed an affection for him.

Sir Lucius enters, remarking that he missed meeting Lucy earlier only because he fell asleep and took
a nap at the Parade coffeehouse. Lucy produces the letter, which Sir Lucius reads aloud, marveling at
the use of language by the writer, whom he believes is only 17. Lucy only remarks that the writer has
much experience. Sir Lucius gives Lucy money and flirts with her before he departs.

Fag enters, telling Lucy that he has seen her give Sir Lucius a letter. Lucy, however, discloses that the
letter's author is Mrs. Malaprop, not Lydia. She also tells Fag that Sir Anthony Absolute has proposed
his son Jack as a suitor and husband for Lydia.

Analysis

Scene 2 brings into focus the identity of the "rivals" in the play's title. Technically, there are four
rivals for Lydia's hand, and each of them has a distinctive profile. Jack Absolute is in love with Lydia,
but her sense of romance has forced him to give himself a "rival"—the imaginary  Ensign Beverley.
Bob Acres contends with Beverley for Lydia's hand. Finally, Sir Lucius O'Trigger is deceived into
believing that the flirtatious letters he receives are from Lydia, whereas they are really penned
by Mrs. Malaprop.

The reading aloud of the latest letter is the comic highlight of the scene. The malapropism "female
punctuation" (for "punctilio" or "punctiliousness," or modesty) is a tip-off for the audience as to the
letter's true author, so it is quiet comical that Sir Lucius marvels at the letter-writer's command of
the English language, when Mrs. Malaprop is known for her humorous misuses of words and
phrases. Lucy attributes the writer's facility with words to a passion for reading, which would suggest
that the author of the letter is Lydia, who is well-read in the sentimental novel genre. The humorous
echoes of Act 1, Scene 2 are unmistakable.

The Rivals | Act 3, Scene 1 | Summary

This brief scene unfolds at the North Parades and consists entirely of a stormy encounter
between Sir Anthony Absolute and his son Jack. It opens with Jack strolling along the Parades,
reflecting on the surprising news that Fag has revealed to him: the wife that his father is planning to
secure for him is none other than the woman he is wooing under a false persona, Lydia Languish.
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Sir Anthony enters ranting to himself about all the parental care he has invested into Jack, only to be
repaid by rudeness and stubbornness. Jack feigns penitence, which wins his father or a while. When
Sir Anthony rhapsodizes over the charms of Lydia Languish, Jack pretends never to have heard the
name before. Sir Anthony's anger is not to be diverted, however. When Jack protests that all he
wishes to do is to please his father, Sir Anthony breaks out in rage again, calling Jack a "phlegmatic
sot." Sir Anthony decides that the only cure for Jack's lack of gumption is to take him to see Lydia for
himself.

Analysis

This short scene is a jewel, pitting the older Absolute against the younger one. Jack sets the tone
right at the start when he says his father looks "plaguy gruff." The son steps aside during Sir
Anthony's opening rant, which conveys a broad range of strong emotions. Sir Anthony focuses on
Jack's impudence, stubbornness, and ingratitude, but he combines his anger with a generous dose of
self-pity, culminating in a comic echo of William Shakespeare's King Lear's poignant words over his
dead daughter Cordelia in the play King Lear: "Never ... never .... never ... never."

It is only when Jack acquiesces to total subjugation that Sir Anthony calms down enough to declare
that his son is now talking "absolute sense" (the pun on the surname is conspicuous). His speech is
still contorted and full of paradoxes: "Confound you; you shall be Jack again." He launches into a
suggestively appreciate catalogue of Lydia Languish's physical charms but then reverts to ire when
Jack, in apparent naiveté, asks whether his father intends for Jack to marry the niece or the
aunt, Mrs. Malaprop. As Sir Anthony's anger waxes for a new volley, he impatiently declares, "I've a
great mind to marry the girl myself!"

All this while, the audience must be savoring the overall dramatic irony, encapsulated by Jack out of
his father's hearing at the very opening of the scene: "My father wants to  force me to marry the very
girl I am plotting to run away with!" Behind Sir Anthony's tyrannical behavior, of course, lies the
18th-century social reality that parents and guardians wielded huge power over the younger
generation. But Sheridan manages to convert this social reality into an abundant source of humor.

The Rivals | Act 3, Scene 2 | Summary

Scene 2 takes place in Julia Melville's dressing room. Faulkland is anxious that Julia has not yet
appeared. He scrutinizes his own feelings and temperament carefully, but he cannot seem to
reconcile his emotions with good sense.

When Julia does appear, Faulkland complains that her "mirthful" sojourn in Devonshire, as reported
by Bob Acres, has wounded him emotionally. Julia dismisses Acres's account as "the idle reports of a
silly boor." She says she can never be happy in his absence. Faulkland taxes himself with being a
brute. Yet he reverts to parsing her language microscopically, to the extent that they renew their
quarrel, and Julia departs in tears. In a concluding monologue Faulkland berates himself again for his
prickly temperament and drowns himself in self-pity.

Analysis
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Scene 2 contrasts strikingly in content and tone with the preceding one. From Faulkland's
introductory appearance in Act 2, Scene 1, we know him to be an apprehensive, jealous, and
petulant suitor who is low in self-esteem. (In that scene, Jack Absolute says to him, "You are the
most teasing, captious, incorrigible lover. Do love like a man!") In Act 4, Scene 3, he tells Faulkland
that he doesn't deserve Julia. Sheridan here plays with types: where Julia Melville can be considered
the embodiment of romantic good sense and dependable loyalty in the play, her fiancé Faulkland
veers toward the opposite: he is a veritable storehouse of apprehensions, suspicions, and
insecurities. Faulkland's emotional responses might be better expected from young ladies influenced
by sentimental novels than Julia's are. The humor, which admittedly is somewhat thinner than in
other situations in the play, resides in his partial awareness of his own deficiencies. Yet Julia's tears
bring us close to what both Richard Brinsley Sheridan and the Anglo-Irish author Oliver Goldsmith
might have called "sentimental comedy."

The Rivals | Act 3, Scene 3 | Summary

The scene takes place in Mrs. Malaprop's lodgings, where Captain Jack Absolute has come to speak
to the widow about becoming Lydia's suitor. Jack says he has never met Lydia; he has agreed to the
marriage because of Mrs. Malaprop's favorable reputation. Undoubtedly Jack's remarks flatter Mrs.
Malaprop. She asks the Captain his thoughts about Lydia's affair with the poor ensign, to which he
states that he is not bothered by it at all. Mrs. Malaprop tells Jack that she has made attempts to end
the affair between her niece and the ensign, but all of her efforts have failed. She then takes out a
love letter sent by Beverley that she intercepted just that morning, and she and Jack examine it
together. Jack agrees that Beverley's speech about Mrs. Malaprop is appalling and even declares
that the scoundrel "deserves to be hang'd and quartered!" He asks Mrs. Malaprop to call Lydia down
to meet him.

Lydia enters expecting to meet Captain Jack Absolute and is instead surprised to see Beverley. Jack is
careful to maintain his disguise as Ensign Beverley and tells Lydia that he had tricked Mrs. Malaprop
into thinking that he, Beverley, was the Captain, to keep his wealthy rival away. Mrs. Malaprop
eavesdrops on the couple and balks at Lydia's rudeness in discussing her love for Ensign Beverley.

Analysis

Act 3, Scene 3 is among the most ingenious and comical scenes in the entire play, thanks to the
layers of deception that Sheridan employs and the dramatic ironies these deceptions produce. As
in Act 2, Scene 2 a letter plays a prominent role as the vehicle for much of the deception happening
here. First, Mrs. Malaprop has Jack read statements aloud from a correspondence he penned under
the guise of Ensign Beverley, a letter that speaks of Beverley's plans to deceive Mrs. Malaprop. The
act of deception described in the letter is actually being played out at that moment, yet Mrs.
Malaprop does not realize it, another dramatic irony. Sheridan also weaves in verbal ironies, with
some of "Beverley's" comments being extremely hostile or derogatory, and Jack's professed shock
and amazement at the sentiments and attitudes expressed in the letter. Mrs. Malaprop cuts to the
quick when mortally offended; she expresses her outrage that the letter attacks her with "an
aspersion upon my parts of speech!"

Jack's deception, in the creation of the "Beverley" persona, provides even more dramatic irony in the
second part of the scene. Here his "scheme to see [Lydia] shortly with the old Harridan's consent"
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plays out perfectly. When the two lovers meet, Jack excites Lydia with the account of how he—
Beverley—has tricked her aunt into being, as he had penned in the letter, his "go between in our
interviews." His speech to Lydia about running away with her in poverty to elope is also a deception.
Both he and Lydia are very wealthy even without the portion of her fortune that would be withheld
if she were to marry Beverley (or anyone) without her aunt's consent.

The Rivals | Act 3, Scene 4 | Summary

The setting of Scene 4 is Bob Acres's lodgings. Acres is eager to show off the dancing steps he has
been practicing, and he boasts of his fashionable costume to his servant David, stating that no one in
his home of Clod-Hill would recognize him because of his transformation. David exits, and Acres
continues to practice his French dances. He complains to himself how the French words used to
teach the steps makes it difficult for him to learn the dances.

Sir Lucius enters and asks Acres why he is in Bath. Acres answers that he has fallen in love, but the
young lady of his dreams seems to be avoiding him. He explains that Lydia is in love with a
rival, Ensign Beverley. Sir Lucius immediately advises Acres to challenge Beverley to a duel. Acres
hesitates at first, but Sir Lucius eggs him on. The two men work themselves into a froth of
belligerence. Acres takes pen and paper in hand, and Sir Lucius dictates the challenge. At the end of
the scene, Sir Lucius implies that he, too, may soon be involved in a duel.

Analysis

In the first part of Scene 4 the audience is invited to laugh at Acres's pretentious vanity, especially as
expressed through his wardrobe and his dance steps. David, the servant, functions as Acres's
sounding-board and flatterer-in-chief as Acres boasts to him about his fashion sense and new,
polished look. As for the dances, Acres shows frustration in private about not being able to get the
steps correct. His complaint about the use of the French language to learn French dances is
humorous, especially in the fact that his misunderstanding of the pronunciation of the French words
is what he believes is to be blamed for his awkwardness. The French term
for steps is pas, pronounced with a silent s. But Acres hears pas as paws, and becomes miffed over
why his feet should be called paws.

In the second part of the scene, Sir Lucius is the catalyst for Acres's hot temper. Slow to ignite, this
temper reaches grotesque, even ludicrous proportions. "Dear Sir Lucius," says Acres at one point,
"let me be in a rage if you love me." Little does Acres know, however, that his friend Lucius is also a
rival for Lydia's love. In an act of deception, Lucius eggs Acres on to entice a duel between Acres and
Beverley. In Lucius's mind, a duel between the two will eliminate at least one of his own rivals for
Lydia's heart, with no effort of his own. Although dueling had been outlawed at Bath under
regulations promoted by one of its founding fathers, the entrepreneur Beau Nash, Acres wishes for
red ink as he begins to write his challenge to "Ensign Beverley." The writing of the challenge is comic
because of Sheridan's juxtaposition of Acres's exaggerated passion and the formal understatement
of Sir Lucius, who regards the duel as a means for terminating "all confusion or misunderstanding
that might arise" between the two men.

The Rivals | Act 4, Scene 1 | Summary

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At Bob Acres's lodgings, the servant tells Acres that the latter has acted too hastily. The two discuss
the concept of honor, with David upholding a somewhat cynical, yet practical, point of view. Acres
calls David a coward and boasts that he will never disgrace his ancestors. David continues to remind
Acres that dueling is dangerous, but Acres dismisses his opinion and declares he is determined to
fight.

Captain Jack Absolute enters, having been requested by Acres to deliver the letter containing his
challenge. Absolute agrees to this mission but declines Acres's invitation to act as his second in the
duel, so Acres decides Sir Lucius will serve. A servant announces the arrival of Sir Anthony. Before
Jack exits to meet his father, Acres asks him to emphasize to Ensign Beverleythat Acres is "a devil of
a fellow" who "kills a man a week."

Analysis

Scene 1 humorously stresses the dangers of excess indulged in by Bob Acres in Act 3, Scene 4. The
servant David no longer flatters Bob Acres. Instead he exposes the silliness of Acres's obsession with
honor, alluding to the character of Falstaff in William Shakespeare's Henry IV. Falstaff is a character
known for his bawdy humor and boastful nature. In Scene 1 Sheridancreates an extended allusion to
Falstaff's cynical disparagement of honor in Shakespeare's 1 Henry IV, Act 5, Scenes 1 and 3: "Honor
is a mere scutcheon." What Falstaff meant by his words, and David is informing Acres of here, is that
to gain honor, one must die, and therefore, honor is worthless, so what is the point in losing your
own life to win it.

In dialogue lightly tinged with dramatic irony, Jack Absolute gives Bob Acres qualified
encouragement and assent. Of course the audience is aware that, in asking Jack to convey his
challenge and even to be his second in the upcoming duel, Bob Acres is blissfully ignorant of the real
identity of his rival, Ensign Beverley. According to dueling etiquette, Acres asks Jack to be his second
—his negotiator in the duel—but Jack must decline for reasons known to the reader. Acres's boasts
of his fighting prowess suggest that some of what David has warned him about the dangers of
dueling is stirring inside his head. Acres asks Jack to tell Beverley that he is a "devil of a fellow" and
kills "a man a week," thinking that this might cause Beverley to forfeit before the duel takes place.
He adds, "For I don't want to take his life if I clear my honor." Acres's concern for the life of his foe is
a guise for his own fear of losing the duel. Readers may wonder why Acres, who now fears his own
death, is asking Jack to proceed in delivering the letter. The action adds to the humor of the
situation. Jack's farewell, "Aye, aye, fighting Bob!" is a delightful piece of dramatic irony. He is
bidding farewell to his friend, whom he knows he will face soon as his foe—that is, if Acres is brave
enough to show up.

The Rivals | Act 4, Scene 2 | Summary

The scene opens in Mrs. Malaprop's lodgings, where she is scolding Lydia. Mrs. Malaprop is irritated
by Lydia's reluctance to give up Ensign Beverley for Captain Jack Absolute. Mrs. Malaprop receives
word that Sir Anthony and Jack have arrived. She orders her niece to act properly, and Lydia declares
she will not even look at Jack.
 12

Sir Anthony and Jack enter. The elders try to persuade the younger adults to speak to each other but
in vain. At length, Jack disguises his voice, uttering a flowery plea to Lydia to heed "the accents of
true love." Jack feigns embarrassment and confusion, but Lydia, thinking he is Beverley, is overcome
by joy. Astounded, Sir Anthony cries out that Lydia has gone mad, her brain "turned by reading." At
length, Jack's secret is out of the bag. Lydia, however, is none too pleased, sullenly commenting that
there will be no elopement after all.

Sir Anthony is angry at his son's deception, sarcastically quoting Jack's submissive and obedient
statements in the past that he would do anything to please his father. Mrs. Malaprop protests
against Jack for writing the letters that "reflected on my parts of speech" and called her "an old
weather-beaten she-dragon." Calming down, Sir Anthony advises everyone to "forget and forgive."
Intoning snatches of song from John Gay's The Beggar's Opera, Sir Anthony escorts Mrs. Malaprop
out of the room in order to leave the young people together.

Once they are alone, Jack attempts to soothe Lydia, but she is still angry at his deception and bursts
into tears. Sir Anthony and Mrs. Malaprop return. Sir Anthony misinterprets Lydia's tearful
breakdown as a reaction to undue forwardness on Jack's part.

Analysis

In some respects, this scene brings the action of the play to the border of tragedy.
However, Sheridan never discards his commitment to "laughing" rather than "sentimental" comedy,
largely thanks to the outsized personalities of Sir Anthony Absolute and Mrs. Malaprop and the
comic possibilities offered by Jack's "disguise" as Ensign Beverley. Jack is hard-pressed to maintain
his deception, and he is eventually forced to surrender it. Perhaps understandably, he takes refuge
in embarrassment and confusion. Meanwhile Sir Anthony continues to tyrannize him, while Mrs.
Malaprop, true to character, bullies Lydia.

The Rivals | Act 4, Scene 3 | Summary

The final scene in Act 4 takes place on the North Parade. Sir Lucius O'Trigger and Jack Absolute both
deliver brief monologues. Sir Lucius challenges Jack to a duel at Kingsmead Fields. After Sir Lucius
departs, Faulkland arrives. Jack requests that he accompany him that evening to act as his second at
the duel. But Faulkland distracts him by handing him a letter from Julia, in which she writes that she
wants to speak to Jack as soon as possible. Jack then leaves, after reproaching Faulkland for his
mournful, pessimistic outlook. In a concluding monologue, Faulkland says that he has decided to test
Julia yet again.

Analysis

The request of Lucius O'Trigger to match Jack Absolute in a duel comes as a surprise to readers.
O'Trigger, who believes he is a contender for Lydia's love, has somehow realized that Jack is a rival.
He is hasty in his request for a duel, which is no surprise because he enticed haste in encouraging his
 13

friend Bob Acres to arrange a duel with Beverley. Sir Lucius himself cannot give Jack a solid reason
for wanting the duel, but Jack is a man of honor, and he accepts the contest.

Jack Absolute's mood is dark in this scene, faced with a duel and having been rejected by Lydia. His
black mood in this scene neatly corresponds with Faulkland's usually mournful mien. Both Sir Lucius
O'Trigger and Faulkland contrast with Jack, however, since they are one-dimensional stereotypes:
O'Trigger is a boaster, and Faulkner is a hand-wringer. The action gathers momentum as the duels
approach.

The Rivals | Act 5, Scene 1 | Summary

Scene 1 continues directly from the last scene in Act 4 and is set in Julia's dressing
room. Faulkland enters and announces to Julia that a sudden misadventure has made it necessary
for him to flee the country. Julia tries to console him, declaring that they will flee together. When
Faulkland raises several objections to such a plan, Julia persists in her loyalty and dedication. At
length, Faulkland confesses that he has made up the whole story to test Julia. This is too much for
Julia, who upbraids Faulkland sternly and angrily. She tells him, "I now see that it is not in your
nature to be content, or confident, in love." She tells him she is leaving him forever and makes her
exit.

Faulkland curses himself for his own callousness. After he has left the stage, Julia and Lydia converse
about their misfortunes in courtship. Mrs. Malaprop, Fag, and David enter shortly; Lydia slowly
coaxes details about the upcoming duels from Fag and David. Mrs. Malaprop at first declares that
the ladies' presence would only complicate matters, but when she hears that Sir Lucius is involved,
she changes her mind and decides they must rush to the place to "prevent mischief."

Analysis

This scene may strike the reader or the audience as uneven, especially in tone. By this point in the
play, Faulkland's melancholy, jealous, insecure nature is so well established that the fictitious story
he employs to test Julia will not seem especially surprising. When Faulkland confesses that he has
fabricated the whole story, Julia loses her patience and renounces her love for him. This is another of
the relatively rare points at which the play skirts the edges of tragedy.

In the second part of the scene, Lydia and Julia compare notes, as they did in Act 1, Scene 2. Julia
remains relatively close-mouthed about her falling-out with Faulkland, but Lydia waxes eloquent
about her disillusionment with Jack Absolute. In fact she piles one vivid detail on top of another in
her imaginative description of what to expect at her wedding. She contrasts this unappetizing
prospect with a romantically gilded vignette of the past, when she was able to experience true
romance. This exchange offers strong irony as well, as most young women would have yearned for
all the romantic trappings that Lydia abhors.

In the scene's third and final segment, confusion breaks out again and the tone turns almost
farcically comic as the servants Fag and David disclose what they know about the upcoming duels.
Especially amusing is Mrs. Malaprop's about-face when she hears that "poor little dear Sir Lucius" is
involved in the "scrape."

The Rivals | Act 5, Scene 2 | Summary

 14

In this brief scene, Sir Anthony Absolute encounters his son Jack on the South Parade. Jack hurriedly
conceals his sword, which he carries for the upcoming duel. Sir Anthony discovers the sword,
however. Jack tries to deceive his father by pretending that he is on his way to implore Lydia to
accept him, or otherwise he will commit suicide by falling on the sword. As Jack makes his exit, the
servant David rushes onstage, in a panic because of the duels. David and Sir Anthony make for
Kingsmead Fields.

Analysis

The scenes involving Jack Absolute and his father are among the most humorous in the play, largely
because of Sheridan's deft characterization. Sir Anthony can be depended on for irascible hyperbole
and colorful idioms, while Jack is suave, quick-witted, and practical. Jack's explanation for carrying a
sword (that he will use it to kill himself if Lydia rejects him) is humorously ironic, since such an
extreme, "romantic" gesture might plausibly appeal to Lydia's imagination as a "devilish romantic"
admirer of Ensign Beverley and the throes and passions of "true love." The breathless appearance of
David at the end of the scene helps to build suspense.

The Rivals | Act 5, Scene 3 | Summary

At Kingsmead Fields, Sir Lucius and Bob Acres, armed with pistols, measure paces for dueling, with
Sir Lucius claiming special expertise in the matter and Acres seeming increasingly squeamish,
especially at the idea that a duel might end in "quietus" or death. When  Faulkland and Jack Absolute
enter, Acres salutes Jack as a "particular friend." Sir Lucius calls Acres a coward, while Jack sets him
straight about the fact that Jack and Beverley are the same man. Jack lightly taunts Acres as "fighting
Bob" who "kills a man a week."

Just as Sir Lucius and Jack Absolute draw their swords, Sir Anthony, Mrs. Malaprop, Lydia, and Julia
arrive, together with David. Both Sir Anthony and Mrs. Malaprop scold the would-be duelists.
Gradually, tempers are soothed. Mrs. Malaprop admits that she has been masquerading in her
letters to Sir Lucius under the pseudonym Delia. Even Julia and Faulkland and Lydia and Jack
Absolute patch up their relationships. Sir Anthony exclaims that the "single lads" will raise a toast to
the young couples that very evening, and Julia closes the play with a tribute to hearts united in
happiness.

Analysis

In the final scene, Sheridan shoulders the task of sorting out all the misunderstandings created by
exaggeration, deception, and delusion. Although Sir Anthony usually sides with hyperbole and crusty
conservatism, here he stresses cooperation, forgiveness, and fellowship. The outliers Bob Acres and
Sir Lucius O'Trigger are reincorporated into the fabric of society. Lydia is reconciled to Jack Absolute,
as is Julia to Faulkland. Although the audience may find the latter reconciliation implausible, Sir
Anthony provides the rationale for it in a rare moment of practicality. After he points out that all of
Faulkland's faults seem to be rooted in his love for Julia, he tells her, "Marry him directly, Julia; you'll
find he'll mend surprisingly." Just before the scene's end, Jack Absolute attempts to remind
Faulkland that the latter always preferred "the bitter cup" in affairs of love. But Lydia cuts him off,
tartly calling him "Mr. Modesty." "But come, no more of that," she advises. "Our happiness is now as
unallayed as general."
 15

The Rivals | Epilogue | Summary

Delivered by the actress playing Julia Melville, the epilogue upholds women as the pivot of social
happiness. She reveals that the moral of the play is that men's happiness rests with the women.
There is more to love than beauty, and men should look toward the level-headed women who can
direct them toward making good judgments. The speaker supports her opinion with numerous
examples, drawn from various social classes and stages of life.

Analysis

The epilogue is written in rhyming, heroic couplets. There is more than a superficial resemblance in
these lines to Jaques' famous soliloquy in Shakespeare's As You Like It (Act 2, Scene 7), beginning "All
the world's a stage. ... " Note particularly the sentence in the introduction, "The world's great stage
will prove it true" (line 8).