Acted Drama

<p>This edition presents The Belle's Stratagem a celebrated comedy of manners as it would have been experienced by theatregoers of the early 19th century. The text is drawn from a performance edition prepared by William Oxberry a prominent actor and publisher of plays. This version offers insight into stagecraft and acting traditions of the period.</p><p>Accompanying the play is a critical essay by William Hazlitt a renowned essayist drama critic and social commentator. Hazlitt's analysis provides valuable context exploring the play's themes characters and its place within the broader landscape of English drama. The Belle's Stratagem exemplifies the witty dialogue and intricate plotting characteristic of the comedy of manners genre.</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore you will see the original copyright references library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world) and other notations in the work.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America and possibly other nations. Within the United States you may freely copy and distribute this work as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>As a reproduction of a historical artifact this work may contain missing or blurred pages poor pictures errant marks etc. Scholars believe and we concur that this work is important enough to be preserved reproduced and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p>