“Richard Brome's Neglected Contribution to Comic Theory,” in Studies in Philology, Vol. 40, No. 4, 1943, pp. 520-28.

In the essay below, Davis argues that an unstated but coherent theory of comic catharsis is adumbrated by Brome in The Antipodes.

I

The Antipodes of Richard Brome, composed in 1637 and first acted at the Salisbury Court playhouse in 1638,¹ has been competently related to its many sources and analyzed for its wide-glancing satire;² the claim has been made that it has the unique distinction among Caroline plays of anticipating Gilbertian farce.³ None of its critics, however, has attempted to show that it incorporates a theory of comic catharsis and what may be termed an extra-realistic conception of the relationship between comedy and actuality.

In utilizing one of his most sustained efforts in the craft of comedy for the purpose of theorizing about this craft's principles, Brome was probably inspired by Thomas Randolph's...