A Short View of the Immorality, and Profaneness of the English Stage

"A Short View of the Immorality, and Profaneness of the English Stage" by Jeremy Collier is an anti-theatre pamphlet published in 1698. Collier launches a fierce attack on leading playwrights of Restoration comedy, accusing them of profanity, blasphemy, and undermining public morality. Through exhaustive analysis, he condemns their failure to punish vice and enforce poetic justice. His innovative critical approach sparked a pamphlet war lasting nearly three decades, as outraged playwrights defended their art while public sentiment shifted toward theatrical reform.

A Short View of the Immorality, and Profaneness of the English Stage, by Jeremy Collier. Republished by OpenStories from Project Gutenberg eBook #44645.