W. S. Gilbert

Birth: 1836-11-18 , Londres

Death: 1911-05-29 , Londres

Sir William Schwenck Gilbert was an English writer, playwright, and poet, best known for his collaboration with composer Sir Arthur Sullivan. Together, they created a series of fourteen light comic operas, including famous works such as 'H.M.S. Pinafore', 'The Pirates of Penzance', and 'The Mikado'. Their librettos are celebrated for their witty humor, clever wordplay, and social satire.

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Pretty young wards in Chancery.

The Law is the true embodiment Of everything that’s excellent. It has no kind of fault or flaw, And I, my Lords, embody the Law.

Bow, bow, ye lower middle classes! Bow, bow, ye tradesmen, bow, ye masses.

I see no objection to stoutness, in moderation.

None shall part us from each other, One in life and death are we: All in all to one another— I to thee and thou to me! Thou the tree and I the flower— Thou the idol; I the throng— Thou the day and I the hour— Thou the singer; I the song!

A greenery-yallery, Grosvenor Gallery, Foot-in-the-grave young man!

Francesca da Rimini, miminy, piminy, Je-ne-sais-quoi young man!

Though the Philistines may jostle, you will rank as an apostle in the high aesthetic band, If you walk down Piccadilly with a poppy or a lily in your medieval hand. And everyone will say, As you walk your flowery way, “If he’s content with a vegetable love, which would certainly not suit me, Why, what a most particularly pure young man this pure young man must be!”

Prithee, pretty maiden, will you marry me? (Hey, but I’m hopeful, willow, willow, waly!)

Come, friends, who plow the sea, Let’s vary piracee With a little burglaree. 1

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W. S. Gilbert was born in London and had a diverse career, practicing as a lawyer and later as a writer. His worldwide fame came from his partnership with Arthur Sullivan, which lasted for over twenty years. Gilbert was the principal lyricist and librettist, creating ingenious stories, eccentric characters, and dialogues filled with wit and irony. His comic operas satirized Victorian society, politics, and the social conventions of his time. In addition to his collaborations with Sullivan, Gilbert also wrote plays, short stories, and poems. His work 'The Bab Ballads' is a collection of short, rhyming poems that served as the basis for many of his operas. Gilbert was knighted (Knight Bachelor) in 1907.