Shakespeare and university drama in early modern England /
This book examines how the apparently secluded theatrical culture of the universities became a major source of inspiration for Shakespeare and his contemporaries. It offers groundbreaking new readings of plays from throughout Shakespeare's career, illustrating how their depictions of academic c...
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| Format: | eBook |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Oxford :
Oxford University Press,
2023.
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| Edition: | First edition. |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Connect to the full text of this electronic book |
| Summary: | This book examines how the apparently secluded theatrical culture of the universities became a major source of inspiration for Shakespeare and his contemporaries. It offers groundbreaking new readings of plays from throughout Shakespeare's career, illustrating how their depictions of academic culture were shaped by university plays. Dramatic performances at the universities in early modern England have usually been regarded as insular events, completely removed from the plays of the London stage. Shakespeare and University Drama in Early Modern England challenges that long-held notion, illuminating how an apparently secluded theatrical culture became a major source of inspiration for Shakespeare and his contemporaries. While many university plays featured classical themes, others reflected upon the academic environments in which they were produced, allowing a window into the universities themselves. This window proved especially fruitful for Shakespeare, who, as this book reveals, had a sustained fascination with the universities and their inhabitants. Shakespeare and University Drama in Early Modern England offers groundbreaking new readings of plays from throughout Shakespeare's career, illustrating how their depictions of academic culture were shaped by university plays. Shakespeare was not unique, however. This book also discusses the impact of university drama on professional plays by Christopher Marlowe, Robert Greene, and Ben Jonson, all of whom in various ways facilitated the connection between the university stage and the London commercial stage. Yet this connection, perhaps counterintuitively, is most significant in the works of a playwright who had no formal attachment to Oxford or Cambridge. Shakespeare, this study shows, was at the center of a rich exchange between two seemingly disparate theatrical worlds. |
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| Physical Description: | 1 online resource. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: | 0192886118 9780192886101 019288610X 9780192886118 9780191981258 0191981257 |