The Chinese lantern

Name: The Chinese lantern
Author: Laurence Housman

By Laurence Housman

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Plays/Films/Dramas

About This Book

The play centers on a bustling painting studio where indolent students and a few persistent servants circle a supine young artist, Yunglangtsi, whose supposed destiny as the greatest living artist fuels rivalries and mock ceremonies. Grumbles about unpaid labor, petty bullying, and comic rituals alternate with scenes involving a Korean slave-girl whose rising status prompts a proposed marriage, scheming merchants, and a money-lender. Through sharp stage comedy and caricatured characters the piece satirizes artistic pretension, social ambition, and the clash between creative aspiration and everyday economic pressures, unfolding in staged episodes that mix farce, mock-heroic pronouncements, and domestic maneuvering.

About the Author

Laurence Housman

Laurence Housman was an English playwright, poet, and illustrator, known for his contributions to Victorian literature. He was the brother of the more famous A.E. Housman and carved out his own niche with works that often explored themes of love, morality, and social issues. His notable plays include "Angels and Ministers, and Other Victorian Plays" and "Bethlehem: A Nativity Play," which reflect his interest in both the theatrical and the spiritual. Housman's writing is characterized by its lyrical quality and a deep engagement with the human experience, making him a significant figure in the literary heritage of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.