:Hmm. I don't know whether where you moved the description of Gilbert's work is very good: "In Gilbert's absurd worlds, fairies rub elbows with English lords, flirting is a capital offence, gondoliers ascend to the monarchy, and pirates turn out to be noblemen who have gone wrong."  - the Mike Leigh quote is perfectly valid, but two out of three of those themes aren't in the Bab Ballads, but only in operas written long after the period being described.