Full Answer
What is the play Blithe Spirit about?
Blithe Spirit is a comic play by Noël Coward which takes its title from Shelley's poem "To a Skylark". The play concerns the socialite and novelist Charles Condomine, who invites the eccentric medium and clairvoyant, Madame Arcati, to his house to conduct a séance, hoping to gather material...
What is the meaning of blithe person?
Definition of blithe. 1 : lacking due thought or consideration : casual, heedless blithe unconcern a blithe disregard for the rights of others. 2 : of a happy lighthearted character or disposition a blithe spirit blithe enjoyment. Other Words from blithe Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about blithe.
What was the review of Blithe Spirit by Noel Coward?
"Blithe Spirit review: The play's the thing in a fine Noël Coward revival", The Guardian, 18 March 2014 ^ McNulty, Charles. "Angela Lansbury keeps spirits high in Blithe Spirit", Los Angeles Times, 15 December 2014 ^ Gans, Andrew.
How many times has Blithe Spirit been on Broadway?
Blithe Spirit was revived on Broadway at the Neil Simon Theatre on 31 March 1987 in a production directed by Brian Murray. It starred Richard Chamberlain as Charles, Judith Ivey as Ruth, Blythe Danner as Elvira and Geraldine Page as Madame Arcati. It ran for 104 performances.
What is meant by Blithe Spirit?
merry, blithe, jocund, jovial, jolly mean showing high spirits or lightheartedness. merry suggests cheerful, joyous, uninhibited enjoyment of frolic or festivity. a merry group of revelers blithe suggests carefree, innocent, or even heedless gaiety.
Is Blithe positive or negative?
Blithe is used when someone wants to describe a person as being jaunty or blissful. This application has a positive connotation as it refers to happiness and general goodness.
Can a person be blithe?
The adjective blithe used to mean happy and carefree, but over time it has also come to describe someone who isn't paying attention the way they should.
What does blithe mean in Old English?
glad, happy, joyfulFrom Middle English blithe (“glad, happy, joyful; causing joy, joyous; gentle, mild; gracious, merciful; bright, shining; beautiful, fair”) [and other forms], from Old English blīþe (“happy, gentle”), from Proto-West Germanic *blīþī, from Proto-Germanic *blīþiz (“friendly; gentle, mild; pleasing”), from Proto-Indo- ...
What is the synonym of blithe?
Some common synonyms of blithe are jocund, jolly, jovial, and merry. While all these words mean "showing high spirits or lightheartedness," blithe suggests carefree, innocent, or even heedless gaiety.
Does Blythe mean happy?
The name Blythe is girl's name of English origin meaning "happy, carefree". Blythe originated as a nickname for an upbeat person, coming from the Old English word bliðe, meaning "merry" or "cheerful." Today the homophone blithe shares the same meaning.
What is bonny and blithe mean?
bonny = attractive. blithe = happy or joyous. gay = in older dialects of English this word means merry or cheerful.
Is Blithe a name?
Blithe as a girl's name (also used as boy's name Blithe) is of Old English origin, and the meaning of Blithe is "carefree". Blithe is a variant of the Old English name Blythe.
Does Blythe mean reckless?
1. heedless, casual, rash, reckless, indifferent, careless, oblivious, negligent, unconcerned, untroubled, thoughtless, nonchalant, unthinking, imprudent, neglectful, incautious, unmindful It does so with blithe disregard for best scientific practice. 2.
What is the root word of blithe?
blithe (adj.) Old English bliþe "joyous, kind, cheerful, pleasant," from Proto-Germanic *blithiz "gentle, kind" (source also of Old Saxon bliði "bright, happy," Middle Dutch blide, Dutch blijde, Old Norse bliðr "mild, gentle," Old High German blidi "gay, friendly," Gothic bleiþs "kind, friendly, merciful").
Is Blithe a Scrabble word?
BLITHE is a valid scrabble word.
Is Blith a word?
adj. blith•er, blith•est. 1. lighthearted in disposition; cheerful.
What is bonny and blithe mean?
bonny = attractive. blithe = happy or joyous. gay = in older dialects of English this word means merry or cheerful.
What does melodiously mean?
having a pleasant musical sound: having a pleasant musical sound. Other Words from melodious. melodiously adverb.
Is Blithe a name?
Blithe as a girl's name (also used as boy's name Blithe) is of Old English origin, and the meaning of Blithe is "carefree". Blithe is a variant of the Old English name Blythe.
What does being light hearted mean?
: free from care, anxiety, or seriousness : happy-go-lucky. a lighthearted mood. : cheerfully optimistic and hopeful : easygoing. they can be lighthearted in the midst of misery H. J. Forman. lightheartedly adverb.
Choose the Right Synonym for blithe
merry, blithe, jocund, jovial, jolly mean showing high spirits or lightheartedness. merry suggests cheerful, joyous, uninhibited enjoyment of frolic or festivity. a merry group of revelers blithe suggests carefree, innocent, or even heedless gaiety. arrived late in his usual blithe way jocund stresses elation and exhilaration of spirits.
Examples of blithe in a Sentence
He showed blithe disregard for the rights of others. He was blithe about the risks to his health.
When was Blithe Spirit revived?
Blithe Spirit was revived on Broadway at the Neil Simon Theatre on 31 March 1987 in a production directed by Brian Murray.
Who is the ghost in Blithe Spirit?
Blithe Spirit is a comic play by Noël Coward. The play concerns the socialite and novelist Charles Condomine, who invites the eccentric medium and clairvoyant, Madame Arcati, to his house to conduct a séance, hoping to gather material for his next book. The scheme backfires when he is haunted by the ghost of his annoying and temperamental first wife, Elvira, after the séance. Elvira makes continual attempts to disrupt Charles's marriage to his second wife, Ruth, who cannot see or hear the ghost.
What is the title of the play "Hail to thee, blithe spirit"?
The title of the play is taken from Shelley 's poem " To a Skylark ", ("Hail to thee, blithe Spirit! / Bird thou never wert"). For some time before 1941 Coward had been thinking of a comedy about ghosts. His first thoughts centred on an old house in Paris, haunted by spectres from different centuries, with the comedy arising from their conflicting attitudes, but he could not get the plot to work in his mind. He knew that in wartime Britain, with death a constant presence, there would be some objection to a comedy about ghosts, but his firm view was that as the story would be thoroughly heartless, "you can't sympathise with any of them. If there was a heart it would be a sad story."
Who played Elvira in Blithe Spirit?
In 2002 the play was given a short production at the Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor, New York, with Daniel Gerroll, who also directed, as Charles, Patricia Kalember as Ruth, Twiggy as Elvira and Dana Ivey as Madame Arcati. The piece was back in the West End at the Savoy Theatre in 2004, in a production directed by Thea Sharrock, starring Aden Gillett as Charles, Joanna Riding as Ruth, Amanda Drew as Elvira and Penelope Keith (succeeded by Stephanie Cole) as Madame Arcati. Matt Wolf wrote in Variety, "Sharrock and her company land every laugh in a play that induces an indecent amount of pleasure while never letting us forget the extent to which Blithe Spirit comes marinated in pain."
When was the play High Spirits first performed?
The play was first seen in the West End in 1941, creating a new long-run record for non-musical British plays of 1,997 performances. It also did well on Broadway later that year, running for 657 performances. Coward adapted the play for film in 1945, starring Rex Harrison, and directed a musical adaptation, High Spirits, on Broadway in 1964. It was also adapted for television in the 1950s and 1960s and for radio. The play enjoyed several West End and Broadway revivals in the 1970s and 1980s and was revived again in London in 2004, 2011, 2014 and 2020. It returned to Broadway in February 2009.
What does "blithe" mean?
blithe. without thought or regard; carefree; heedless: a blithe indifference to anyone's feelings. joyous, merry, or happy in disposition; glad; cheerful: Everyone loved her for her blithe spirit.
Why is the word "sinister" Latin?
The word "sinister" is Latin for "left," because left-handed people were often thought of as suspicious, evil, or demonic.
What does it mean when someone is blithe?
Someone who is blithe is cheerful and has no serious problems .
What does "blithe" mean?
Definition of 'blithe'. (blaɪð ) 1. adjective [usually ADJECTIVE noun] You use blithe to indicate that something is done casually, without serious or careful thought. [disapproval] It does so with blithe disregard for best scientific practice. Synonyms: heedless, casual, rash, reckless More Synonyms of blithe.
Overview
Blithe Spirit is a comic play by Noël Coward. The play concerns the socialite and novelist Charles Condomine, who invites the eccentric medium and clairvoyant, Madame Arcati, to his house to conduct a séance, hoping to gather material for his next book. The scheme backfires when he is haunted by the ghost of his annoying and temperamental first wife, Elvira, after the séance. Elvira makes c…
Background
The title of the play is taken from Shelley's poem "To a Skylark", ("Hail to thee, blithe Spirit! / Bird thou never wert"). For some time before 1941 Coward had been thinking of a comedy about ghosts. His first thoughts centred on an old house in Paris, haunted by spectres from different centuries, with the comedy arising from their conflicting attitudes, but he could not get the plot to work in his mind. He knew that in wartime Britain, with death a constant presence, there would b…
Synopsis
Charles Condomine, a successful novelist, wishes to learn about the occult for a novel he is writing, and he arranges for an eccentric medium, Madame Arcati, to hold a séance at his house. At the séance, she uses the song "Always", which inadvertently summons Charles's first wife, Elvira, who has been dead for seven years. The medium leaves, unaware of what she has done. Only Charles can see or hear Elvira, and his second wife, Ruth, does not believe that Elvira exists …
Productions
The play was first produced at the Manchester Opera House in June 1941, and then premiered in the West End at the Piccadilly Theatre on 2 July 1941, later transferring to the St James's Theatre and then the Duchess Theatre, for a total of 1,997 performances. It was directed by Coward; sets and costumes were designed by Gladys Calthrop. During the run Beryl Measor took over as Madam…
Critical reception
After the first performance in Manchester, the reviewer in The Manchester Guardian thought the mixture of farce and impending tragedy "An odd mixture and not untouched by genius of a sort". After the London premiere, Ivor Brown commented in The Observer on the skill with which Coward had treated his potentially difficult subject; he ended his notice, "But here is a new play, a gay play, and one irresistibly propelled into our welcoming hearts by Miss Rutherford's Lady of the Trance…
Adaptations
Blithe Spirit was made into a 1945 film, adapted by Coward and directed by David Lean. Two of the principals in the original stage production reprised their roles: Kay Hammond as Elvira and Margaret Rutherford as Madame Arcati. Constance Cummings portrayed Ruth, and Rex Harrison played Charles.
A 2020 film adaptation was directed by Edward Hall, with Dan Stevens as Charles, Isla Fisher as Ruth, Leslie …
Sources
• Citron, Stephen (2005). Noel & Cole: the Sophisticates. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 0634093029.
• Coward, Noël (1954). Future Indefinite. London: Heinemann. OCLC 5002107.
• Coward, Noël (1994). Plays, Four. London: Methuen. ISBN 0413461203.
External links
• Internet Broadway Database listing
• Blithe Spirit at ThatTheatreSite Provides character listing, reviews of several productions, and current upcoming auditions.
• Blithe Spirit Provides links to reviews of the 2009 Broadway revival