For this project, we first year students began reading The Rival by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. All of us are reading various roles, and are given chances to discuss and clear up any confusion while reading.
So far we have followed the story of Captain Absolute who frames himself as Ensign Beverly in order to woe Lydia Languish, who dreams of living a life reminiscent to romantic fiction novels. Amidst that is Lydia's aunt, Mrs. Malaprop, who creates comedic tension through her manner of replacing words. We also face new character such as Sir Lucius (who is also in love with Lydia), Julia (Lydia's cousin) and Faulkland (Julia's dramatic lover). All of this creates a series of events filled with comedy, irony and love.
Personally, I enjoy the play because it has a mix of comedy and drama. I thought the idealizations of Lydia was interesting because one would expect that she would want to marry a rich man. Instead, she wishes for a dramatic love story like Romeo and Juliet. I'm excited to see how this story play out!