I'm reminded that one of Gilbert's mentors was Tom Robertson, the dramatist who showed that love could be shown on stage in awkward small-talk as well as bombastic rhetoric. The first dialogue between Robin and Rose in Ruddigore seems like a tribute to Robertson. So they summon three mortal men, and Love comes to Fairy Land. Which, though it carry us to unknown lands, Is so beset with rocks and hidden shoals, That we may perish ere our vessel reach The unsafe haven of its distant shore. I've said several times, and I say again, that I am always finding new things in Gilbert.
New aspects present themselves.
He seems so simple, but he is surprisingly complex. Yes, a good writer, Gilbert.