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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For he might have been a Roosian,

For he himself has said it,

Stick close to your desks and never go to sea,

I always voted at my party’s call,

And so do his sisters, and his cousins and his aunts!

An attachment à la Plato for a bashful young potato, or a not too French French bean!

If you walk down Piccadilly with a poppy or a lily in your medieval hand.

If you’re anxious for to shine in the high

The meaning doesn’t matter if it’s only idle chatter of a transcendental kind.

On a tree by a river a little tom-tit

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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.