Essays on the Stage

"Essays on the Stage: Preface to the Campaigners (1689) and Preface to the Translation of Bossuet's Maxims and Reflections on Plays (1699)" by Thomas D'Urfey

D'Urfey was an English writer and wit. He wrote plays, songs, jokes, and poems. He was an important innovator and contributor in the evolution of the ballad opera. The Campaigners; Or, The Pleasant Adventures At Brussels was a comedy play by this famed writer. Considered a work of smut at the time, D'Urfey felt compelled to write a preface to this work to help his audiences better understand the story and his intentions with writing it.