«"Go, and possess what fortune has given thee, beauty, riches, health, and pleasure. Go, and leave me to want, infamy, disease, and sorrow. Yet humbled as I am, shall my heart still vindicate its dignity, and though thou hast my forgiveness, thou shalt ever have my contempt."» (from The Vicar of Wakefield, Chapter XXIV) ~ #HappyBirthday to #OliverGoldsmith (1728-1774), Anglo-Irish novelist, playwright, poet, essayist and eccentric. Goldsmith was one of the most versatile English writers of the 18th century. Although a good portion of Goldsmith's vast body of work is considered uneven by today's standards, a sizeable handful of his works in various genres are considered eighteenth-century classics, including his novel The Vicar of Wakefield, and his popular comic play, She Stoops To Conquer. His play and novel, like most of his work, deal with typical eighteenth-century themes of social class and position, and wealth and poverty. When Oliver Goldsmith died he had achieved eminence among the writers of his time as an essayist, a poet, and a dramatist. ~ Best-known works (with years premiered): • The Citizen of the World (1760-62, collection of semi-fictional letters) • The Traveller; or, a Prospect of Society (1764, philosophical poem) • The Vicar of Wakefield (1766, novel) • The Good Natur'd Man (1768, comedy play) • The Deserted Village (1770, long pastoral poem) • She Stoops to Conquer (1771, comedy play) ~ «I love everything that’s old: old friends, oldtimes, old manners, old books, old wine.» (from She Stoops to Conquer, Act the First) ~ #Goldsmith #SheStoopsToConquer #TheVicarOfWakefield #TheGoodNaturdMan #TheDesertedVillage #TheTraveller #TheCitizenOfTheWorld #VicarOfWakefield #book #books #reading #playwright #drama #plays #bookstagram #bibliophile #booklove #bookworm #instabook #literature #bookclub #booklion #bookish #booktube #classics https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp_WF95HsSl/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=12q7gsspmfmcb
