 "Engaged" is a parody of romantic drama written in the "topsy-turvy" satiric style of many of Gilbert's Bab Ballads and the [[Savoy Opera]]s—with one character pledging his love, in the most poetic and romantic language, to every single woman in the play.The story portrays some "innocent" Scottish rustics making a living by throwing trains off the lines and then charging the passengers for services and, in parallel, romance being gladly thrown over in favour of monetary gain.A "[[New York Times]]" reviewer wrote in 1879, "Mr Gilbert, in his best work, has always shown a tendency to present improbabilities from a probable point of view, and in one sense, therefore, he can lay claim to originality; fortunately this merit in his case is supported by a really poetic imagination.