The Modern Weaver Lad: Melodrama and Dialect Literature

Abstract

Nineteenth-century Lancastrians feared the death of regional dialects due to increased migration to manufacturing areas, the expansion of the railways, and compulsory state education. This fear fuelled the proliferation of dialect glossaries as well as dialect writing in the form of poems, songs, stories, and sketches. While scholars have written about these forms, the role of Lancashire dialect in theatrical contexts has been understudied. This article draws on recent studies in melodrama and performance sociolinguistics to examine Lancashire dialect writer Ben Brierley's domestic melodrama The Lancashire Weaver Lad. I argue that through its complex representation of ‘Lancashireness’ the play provided new ways for mid-Victorian Lancastrians to understand, construct, and perform modern Lancashire identities.