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      • Trusted Partner
        Literature & Literary Studies
        October 2015

        Staging the revolution

        Drama, reinvention and history, 1647–72

        by Rachel Willie

      • Trusted Partner
        Literature & Literary Studies
        October 2015

        Staging the revolution

        Drama, reinvention and history, 1647–72

        by Rachel Willie

      • Trusted Partner
        Literature & Literary Studies
        December 1998

        Shakespeare: the 'lost years'

        by E Honigmann

        This literary detective story throws light on the problem of what Shakespeare was doing between leaving school and appearing as an actor and playwright in London. Bringing forward historic and documentary evidence, this text argues that Shakespeare worked as a schoolmaster and player for a wealthy Catholic landowner in Lancashire and later for the Earl of Derby. One of the book's conclusions is that Shakespeare was probably a Roman Catholic. Step by step, this story of patronage, recusancy and aspiring talent is pursued through complex family relationships. ;

      • Trusted Partner
        Literature & Literary Studies
        May 2016

        Staging the revolution

        Drama, reinvention and history, 1647–72

        by Rachel Willie

        Staging the revolution offers a reappraisal of the weight and volume of theatrical output during the commonwealth and early Restoration, both in terms of live performances and performances on the paper stage. It argues that the often-cited notion that 1642 marked an end to theatrical production in England until the playhouses were reopened in 1660 is a product of post-Restoration re-writing of the English civil wars and the representations of royalists and parliamentarians that emerged in the 1640s and 1650s. These retellings of recent events in dramatic form mean that drama is central to civil-war discourse. Staging the revolution examines the ways in which drama was used to rewrite the civil war and commonwealth period and demonstrates that, far from marking a clear cultural demarcation from the theatrical output of the early seventeenth century, the Restoration is constantly reflecting back on the previous thirty years. ;

      • Trusted Partner
        Literature & Literary Studies
        September 2016

        Love, history and emotion in Chaucer and Shakespeare

        Troilus and Criseyde and Troilus and Cressida

        by Andrew Johnston, Anke Bernau, Russell West-Pavlov, Elisabeth Kempf

        This collection of essays explores medieval and early modern Troilus-texts from Chaucer to Shakespeare. The contributions show how medieval and early modern fictions of Troy use love and other emotions as a means of approaching the problem of tradition. As these texts reflect on their own traditionality, they highlight both the affective nature of temporality and the role of affect in scrutinising tradition itself. Focusing on a specific textual lineage that bridges the conventional period boundaries, the collection participates in an exchange between medievalists and early modernists that seeks to generate a dialogic encounter between the periods with the aim of further dismantling the rigid notions of chronology and periodisation that have kept medieval and early modern scholarship apart. ;

      • Trusted Partner
        Literature & Literary Studies
        February 2016

        Love, history and emotion in Chaucer and Shakespeare

        Troilus and Criseyde and Troilus and Cressida

        by Andrew Johnston, Anke Bernau, Russell West-Pavlov, Elisabeth Kempf

      • Trusted Partner
        Literature & Literary Studies
        February 2016

        Love, history and emotion in Chaucer and Shakespeare

        Troilus and Criseyde and Troilus and Cressida

        by Andrew Johnston, Anke Bernau, Russell West-Pavlov, Elisabeth Kempf

        This collection of essays explores medieval and early modern Troilus-texts from Chaucer to Shakespeare. The contributions show how medieval and early modern fictions of Troy use love and other emotions as a means of approaching the problem of tradition. As these texts reflect on their own traditionality, they highlight both the affective nature of temporality and the role of affect in scrutinising tradition itself. Focusing on a specific textual lineage that bridges the conventional period boundaries, the collection participates in an exchange between medievalists and early modernists that seeks to generate a dialogic encounter between the periods with the aim of further dismantling the rigid notions of chronology and periodisation that have kept medieval and early modern scholarship apart. ;

      • Trusted Partner
        Literary studies: plays & playwrights
        July 2013

        Beckett's Dantes

        Intertextuality in the fiction and criticism

        by Daniela Caselli

        Beckett's Dantes: Intertextuality in the Fiction and Criticism is the first study in English on the literary relation between Beckett and Dante. It is an innovative reading of Samuel Beckett and Dante's works and a critical engagement with contemporary theories of intertextuality. It is an informative intertextual reading of Beckett's work, detecting previously unknown quotations, allusions to, and parodies of Dante in Beckett's fiction and criticism. The volume interprets Dante in the original Italian (as it appears in Beckett), translating into English all Italian quotations. It benefits from a multilingual approach based on Beckett's published works in English and French, and on manuscripts (which use English, French, German and Italian). Through a close reading of Beckett's fiction and criticism, the book will argue that Dante is both assumed as an external source of literary and cultural authority in Beckett's work, and also participates in Beckett's texts' sceptical undermining of authority. Moreover, the book demonstrates that the many references to various 'Dantes' produce 'Mr Beckett' as the figure of the author responsible for such a remarkably interconnected oeuvre. The book is aimed at the scholarly communities interested in literatures in English, literary and critical theory, comparative literature and theory, French literature and theory and Italian studies. Its jargon-free style will also attract third-year or advanced undergraduate students, and postgraduate students, as well as those readers interested in the unusual relationship between one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century and the medieval author who stands for the very idea of the Western canon.

      • Trusted Partner
        Literary studies: plays & playwrights
        July 2013

        Beckett's Dantes

        Intertextuality in the fiction and criticism

        by Daniela Caselli

        Beckett's Dantes: Intertextuality in the Fiction and Criticism is the first study in English on the literary relation between Beckett and Dante. It is an innovative reading of Samuel Beckett and Dante's works and a critical engagement with contemporary theories of intertextuality. It is an informative intertextual reading of Beckett's work, detecting previously unknown quotations, allusions to, and parodies of Dante in Beckett's fiction and criticism. The volume interprets Dante in the original Italian (as it appears in Beckett), translating into English all Italian quotations. It benefits from a multilingual approach based on Beckett's published works in English and French, and on manuscripts (which use English, French, German and Italian). Through a close reading of Beckett's fiction and criticism, the book will argue that Dante is both assumed as an external source of literary and cultural authority in Beckett's work, and also participates in Beckett's texts' sceptical undermining of authority. Moreover, the book demonstrates that the many references to various 'Dantes' produce 'Mr Beckett' as the figure of the author responsible for such a remarkably interconnected oeuvre. The book is aimed at the scholarly communities interested in literatures in English, literary and critical theory, comparative literature and theory, French literature and theory and Italian studies. Its jargon-free style will also attract third-year or advanced undergraduate students, and postgraduate students, as well as those readers interested in the unusual relationship between one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century and the medieval author who stands for the very idea of the Western canon.

      • Trusted Partner
        Literary studies: plays & playwrights
        July 2012

        Beckett's Dantes

        Intertextuality in the fiction and criticism

        by Daniela Caselli

        Beckett's Dantes: Intertextuality in the fiction and criticism is the first study in English on the literary relationship between Beckett and Dante. It is an innovative reading of Samuel Beckett and Dante's works and a critical engagement with contemporary theories of intertextuality. The volume interprets Dante in the original Italian (as it appears in Beckett), translating into English all Italian quotations. It benefits from a multilingual approach based on Beckett's published works in English and French, and on manuscripts (which use English, French, German and Italian). The book is aimed at the scholarly communities interested in literatures in English, literary and critical theory, comparative literature and theory, French literature and theory and Italian studies. Its jargon-free style will also attract third-year or advanced undergraduate students, and postgraduate students, as well as those readers interested in the unusual relationship between one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century and the medieval author who stands for the very idea of the Western canon.

      • Trusted Partner
        Shakespeare studies & criticism
        November 2015

        Titus Andronicus

        by Michael D. Friedman

        Michael D. Friedman's second edition of this stage history of Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus adds an examination of twelve major theatrical productions and one film that appeared in the years 1989-2009. Friedman identifies four lines of descent in the recent performance history of the play: the stylised, realistic, darkly comic, and political approaches, which culminate in Julie Taymor's harrowing film Titus (1999). Aspects of Taymor's eclectic vision of ancient Rome under the grip of modern fascism were copied by several subsequent productions, making Titus the most characteristic, as well as the most influential, contemporary performance of the play. Friedman's work extends Alan Dessen's original study to include Taymor's film, along with chapters devoted to the efforts of international directors including Gregory Doran, Silviu Purcarete, and Yukio Ninagawa. This expanded volume will prove essential to students of Shakespeare's play, along with scholars interested in the tragedy's gruesome yet occasionally comical performance history.

      • Trusted Partner
        Shakespeare studies & criticism
        November 2015

        Titus Andronicus

        by Michael D. Friedman

        Michael D. Friedman's second edition of this stage history of Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus adds an examination of twelve major theatrical productions and one film that appeared in the years 1989-2009. Friedman identifies four lines of descent in the recent performance history of the play: the stylised, realistic, darkly comic, and political approaches, which culminate in Julie Taymor's harrowing film Titus (1999). Aspects of Taymor's eclectic vision of ancient Rome under the grip of modern fascism were copied by several subsequent productions, making Titus the most characteristic, as well as the most influential, contemporary performance of the play. Friedman's work extends Alan Dessen's original study to include Taymor's film, along with chapters devoted to the efforts of international directors including Gregory Doran, Silviu Purcarete, and Yukio Ninagawa. This expanded volume will prove essential to students of Shakespeare's play, along with scholars interested in the tragedy's gruesome yet occasionally comical performance history.

      • Trusted Partner
        Shakespeare studies & criticism
        November 2015

        Coriolanus

        by Robert Ormsby

        This book is a study of twenty stage productions, adaptations and screen versions of Shakespeare's final Roman play. It makes available for the first time sustained discussions of major productions of the play in four languages and five countries, and explores how Shakespeare's most political drama has been shaped to circumstances radically different from its original early modern staging. The book offers in-depth analyses of Coriolanus productions covering the post-war era to the twenty-first century, combining close readings of documents and historical contextualisation to productions by the BBC, the Berliner Ensemble, The Katona József Theatre in communist Hungary, the Royal Shakespeare Company, Britain's National Theatre, The New York Shakespeare Festival, Robert Lepage, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and Ralph Fiennes' major motion picture. This volume will be of interest to a wide range of readers, including specialists, graduate students and undergraduates studying both Coriolanus and the history of Shakespearean performance.

      • Trusted Partner
        Shakespeare studies & criticism
        November 2015

        Coriolanus

        by Robert Ormsby

        This book is a study of twenty stage productions, adaptations and screen versions of Shakespeare's final Roman play. It makes available for the first time sustained discussions of major productions of the play in four languages and five countries, and explores how Shakespeare's most political drama has been shaped to circumstances radically different from its original early modern staging. The book offers in-depth analyses of Coriolanus productions covering the post-war era to the twenty-first century, combining close readings of documents and historical contextualisation to productions by the BBC, the Berliner Ensemble, The Katona József Theatre in communist Hungary, the Royal Shakespeare Company, Britain's National Theatre, The New York Shakespeare Festival, Robert Lepage, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and Ralph Fiennes' major motion picture. This volume will be of interest to a wide range of readers, including specialists, graduate students and undergraduates studying both Coriolanus and the history of Shakespearean performance.

      • Trusted Partner
        Shakespeare studies & criticism
        November 2015

        Julius Caesar

        by Andrew James Hartley

        Julius Caesar presents a performance history of a controversial play, moving from its 1599 opening all the way into the new millennium with particular emphasis on its twentieth- and twenty-first-century incarnations on stage and screen. The book tracks the play's evolution from being a play about the oratorical skill of noble Romans to its recent manifestations as a dark political thriller. Chapters in this theoretically savvy and global study consider productions such as Orson Welles's groundbreaking examination of European Fascism, Joseph Mankeiwicz's Oscar winning 1953 film, politically complex productions at the Royal Shakespeare Company, and shows from around the world which interrogate their own cultural and educational context as well as pressing contemporary concerns such as the reach of mass media. The result blows the dust off a play sometimes considered old-fashioned, navigates its thorny theatrical qualities and revels in those productions which have so excited audiences.

      • Trusted Partner
        Shakespeare studies & criticism
        November 2015

        Julius Caesar

        by Andrew James Hartley

        Julius Caesar presents a performance history of a controversial play, moving from its 1599 opening all the way into the new millennium with particular emphasis on its twentieth- and twenty-first-century incarnations on stage and screen. The book tracks the play's evolution from being a play about the oratorical skill of noble Romans to its recent manifestations as a dark political thriller. Chapters in this theoretically savvy and global study consider productions such as Orson Welles's groundbreaking examination of European Fascism, Joseph Mankeiwicz's Oscar winning 1953 film, politically complex productions at the Royal Shakespeare Company, and shows from around the world which interrogate their own cultural and educational context as well as pressing contemporary concerns such as the reach of mass media. The result blows the dust off a play sometimes considered old-fashioned, navigates its thorny theatrical qualities and revels in those productions which have so excited audiences.

      • Trusted Partner
        Shakespeare studies & criticism
        November 2015

        Cultural value in twenty-first-century England

        The case of Shakespeare

        by Kate McLuskie, Kate Rumbold

        This book deals with Shakespeare's role in contemporary culture. It looks in detail at the way that Shakespeare's plays inform modern ideas of cultural value and the work required to make Shakespeare part of modern culture. It is unique in using social policy, anthropology and economics, as well as close readings of the playwright, to show how a text from the past becomes part of contemporary culture and how Shakespeare's writing informs modern ideas of cultural value. It goes beyond the twentieth-century cultural studies debates that argued the case for and against Shakespeare's status, to show how he can exist both as a free artistic resource and as a branded product in the cultural marketplace. It will appeal not only to scholars studying Shakespeare, but also to educators and any reader interested in contemporary cultural policy.

      • Trusted Partner
        Shakespeare studies & criticism
        November 2015

        Cultural value in twenty-first-century England

        The case of Shakespeare

        by Kate McLuskie, Kate Rumbold

        This book deals with Shakespeare's role in contemporary culture. It looks in detail at the way that Shakespeare's plays inform modern ideas of cultural value and the work required to make Shakespeare part of modern culture. It is unique in using social policy, anthropology and economics, as well as close readings of the playwright, to show how a text from the past becomes part of contemporary culture and how Shakespeare's writing informs modern ideas of cultural value. It goes beyond the twentieth-century cultural studies debates that argued the case for and against Shakespeare's status, to show how he can exist both as a free artistic resource and as a branded product in the cultural marketplace. It will appeal not only to scholars studying Shakespeare, but also to educators and any reader interested in contemporary cultural policy.

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