two British men, W.S. Gilbert (1836-1911) and Sir Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900), who wrote many humorous operettas (=plays with songs) from 1871 to 1896. Gilbert wrote the words and Sullivan wrote the music. Their operettas, which include The Mikado (1885) and The Pirates of Penzance (1879), made fun of politicians and other well-known people of the time