Ralph Roister Doister

[ralf roi-ster doi-ster]

noun

1. a play (1553?) by Nicholas Udall: the earliest known English comedy.

Example Sentences

Fremantle characterises Huicke as a closet homosexual, partnered by Nicholas Udall, the author of the comic play Ralph Roister Doister.

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In 1550 Nicholas Udall wrote “Ralph Roister Doister,” in the very commencement of which Matthew Merrygreek “says or sings”— “Sometime Lewis Loiterer biddeth me come near: Somewhiles Watkin Waster maketh us good cheer.”

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This led to a multiplication and confusion of dramatic types out of which comedy emerged in such plays as "Gammer Gurton's Needle" and "Ralph Roister Doister."

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Udal’s Ralph Roister Doister had been inspired directly by Latin comedy; Gammer Gurton’s Needle was a purely native product; but Supposes is the first example of the acclimatization of the Italian models that were to exercise so prolonged an influence on the English stage.

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So it is that we find the scholarly authors of the two earliest of English comedies, 'Ralph Roister Doister' and 'Gammer Gurton's Needle,' knowing what was expected of them, and giving the five-act form to both of these amusing plays.

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