The Works of Max Beerbohm · Chapter
Poor Romeo! explained
The chapter recounts the disastrous theatrical debut of Mr.
What happens
The chapter recounts the disastrous theatrical debut of Mr. Coates as Romeo in Bath, his subsequent humiliation by Miss Tylney Long, and his descent into eccentric dandyism and notoriety. The narrator investigates conflicting accounts, uncovers the role of Miss Tylney Long's cruel letter, and reflects on Coates's tragicomic legacy.
Themes in this chapter
Dandyism and Aestheticism
Coates's post-debut transformation into a figure of absurd ostentation parodies the dandyism of Brummell and the King, highlighting the fine line between style and folly.
Artifice vs. Nature
The contrast between Coates's genuine love for acting and the artificial, humiliating performance forced upon him by Miss Tylney Long underscores the tension between authentic expression and contrived spectacle.
Critique of Modernity and Progress
The chapter laments the decline of theatrical art due to amateurism and sensationalism, blaming Coates for setting a precedent that degraded the stage.
Historical Revisionism and Style
The narrator weighs traditional accounts against Mr. Pryse Gordon's memoir, ultimately favoring tradition as a guide to truth, while using a discovered print and newspaper archives to reconstruct the real story.
Characters to notice
- Mr. Coates
The Antiguan amateur actor whose disastrous debut as Romeo in Bath is the focus of the chapter; he later becomes a figure of absurd ostentation.
- Romeo Coates
The stage persona of Mr. Coates, ridiculed for his performance and later known for his dandyism.
- Miss Tylney Long
The haughty young woman who cruelly drives Coates to public humiliation after a garden-party mishap; later dies in poverty.
- Sir James Tylney Long
Father of Miss Tylney Long; his footman delivers the letter that devastates Coates.
- Mr. Pryse Gordon
Memoirist who gives a favorable but unreliable account of Coates's debut, possibly biased by his own involvement.
- Mr. Brummell
Mentioned as a paragon of dandyism, whose foibles Coates parodies.
- King George IV
Mentioned alongside Brummell as a figure whose foibles Coates parodies.
- Lady Belper
Hosts a garden-party attended by Coates and the Tylney Longs.
Key passages
“Tradition is always a safer guide to truth than is the tale of one man.”
The narrator argues that collective memory is more reliable than an individual's account.
Reflects the narrator's method of historical investigation.
“It was the unkindness of his love that maddened him.”
Coates's descent into eccentricity was driven by the cruelty of Miss Tylney Long's rejection.
Central to the chapter's psychological portrait of Coates.
“He was so fantastic an animal that Oblivion were indeed amiss.”
Coates's peculiar character is too remarkable to be forgotten.
Justifies the narrator's interest in preserving Coates's story.
