Comic Transformations in Shakespeare

Comic Transformations in Shakespeare PDF Author: Ruth Nevo
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136557121
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Book Description
First published in 1980. In this study of Shakespeare's ten early comedies, from The Comedy of Errors to Twelfth Night, the concept of a dynamic of comic form is developed; the Falstaff plays are seen as a watershed, and the emergence of new comic protagonists - the resourceful, anti-romantic romantic heroine and the Fool - as the summit of the achievement. The plays are explored from three complementary perspectives - theoretical, developmental and interpretative which lead to a further understanding of the powerful relation between the plays' formal complexity and their naturalistic verisimilitude.

Comic Transformations in Shakespeare

Comic Transformations in Shakespeare PDF Author: Ruth Nevo
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136557121
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 264

Get Book Here

Book Description
First published in 1980. In this study of Shakespeare's ten early comedies, from The Comedy of Errors to Twelfth Night, the concept of a dynamic of comic form is developed; the Falstaff plays are seen as a watershed, and the emergence of new comic protagonists - the resourceful, anti-romantic romantic heroine and the Fool - as the summit of the achievement. The plays are explored from three complementary perspectives - theoretical, developmental and interpretative which lead to a further understanding of the powerful relation between the plays' formal complexity and their naturalistic verisimilitude.

Shakespeare’s comic theory

Shakespeare’s comic theory PDF Author: Thomas Allen Nelson
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3111629724
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 100

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Book Description
No detailed description available for "Shakespeare's comic theory".

The Evolution of Shakespeare's Comedy

The Evolution of Shakespeare's Comedy PDF Author: Larry S. Champion
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 9780674271418
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
The evolution of Shakespeare's comedy, in Larry Champion's view, is apparent in the expansion of his comic vision to include a complete reflection of human life while maintaining a comic detachment for the audience. Like the other popular dramatists of Elizabethan England, Shakespeare used the diverse comic motifs and devices which time and custom had proved effective. He went further, however, and created progressively deeper levels of characterization and plot interaction, thereby forming characters who were not merely devices subordinated to the needs of the plot. Shakespeare's development as a comic playwright, suggests Champion, was "consistently in the direction of complexity or depth of characterization." His earliest works, like those of his contemporaries, are essentially situation comedies: the humor arises from action rather than character. There is no significant development of the main characters; instead, they are manipulated into situations which are humorous as a result, for example, of mistaken identity or slapstick confusion. The ensuing phase of Shakespeare's comedy sets forth plots in which the emphasis is on identity rather than physical action, a revelation of character which occurs in one of two forms: either a hypocrite is exposed for what he actually is or a character who has assumed an unnatural or abnormal pose is forced to realize and admit the ridiculousness of his position. In the final comedies involving sin and sacrificial forgiveness, however, character development is concerned with a "transformation of values." Although each of the comedies is discussed, Champion concentrates on nine, dividing them according to the complexity of characterization. He pursues as well the playwright's efforts to achieve for the spectator the detached stance so vital to comedy. Shakespeare obtained this perspective, Champion observes, through experimentation with the use of material mirroring the main action--mockery, parody, or caricature--and through the use of a "comic pointer" who is himself involved in the action but is sufficiently independent of the other characters to provide the audience with an omniscient view.

The Metamorphoses of Shakespearean Comedy

The Metamorphoses of Shakespearean Comedy PDF Author: William C. Carroll
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400854814
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
This book argues that the idea of metamorphosis is central to both the theory and practice of Shakespearean comedy. It offers a synthesis of several major themes of Shakespearean comedy--identity, change, desire, marriage, and comic form--under the master trope of transformation. Originally published in 1985. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Shakespeare's Rhetoric of Comic Character

Shakespeare's Rhetoric of Comic Character PDF Author: Karen Newman
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136557407
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 176

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Book Description
First published in 1985. In this revisionist history of comic characterization, Karen Newman argues that, contrary to received opinion, Shakespeare was not the first comic dramatist to create self-conscious characters who seem 'lifelike' or 'realistic'. His comic practice is firmly set within a comic tradition which stretches from Plautus and Menander to playwrights of the Italian Renaissance.

The Taming of the Shrew

The Taming of the Shrew PDF Author: Harold Bloom
Publisher: Infobase Publishing
ISBN: 1438112602
Category : Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 209

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Book Description
Presents a collection of essays discussing aspects of William Shakespeare's comedy portraying the ageless battle between the sexes.

The Shakespearean Grotesque

The Shakespearean Grotesque PDF Author: Willard Farnham
Publisher: Oxford : Clarendon Press
ISBN:
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 202

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Book Description


The Comic Matrix of Shakespeare's Tragedies

The Comic Matrix of Shakespeare's Tragedies PDF Author: Susan Snyder
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691196621
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description
Comic elements in Shakespeare's tragedies have often been noted, but while most critics have tended to concentrate on humorous interludes or on a single play, Susan Snyder seeks a more comprehensive understanding of how Shakespeare used the conventions, structures, and assumptions of comedy in his tragic writing. She argues that Shakespeare's early mastery of romantic comedy deeply influenced his tragedies both in dramaturgy and in the expression and development of his tragic vision. From this perspective she sheds new light on Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Othello, and King Lear. The author shows Shakespeare's tragic vision evolving as he moves through three possibilities: comedy and tragedy functioning first as polar opposites, later as two sides of the same coin, and finally as two elements in a single compound. In the four plays examined here, Professor Snyder finds that traditional comic structures and assumptions operate in several ways to shape the tragedy: they set up expectations which when proven false reinforce the movement into tragic inevitability; they underline tragic awareness by a pointed irrelevance; they establish a point of departure for tragedy when comedy's happy assumptions reveal their paradoxical "shadow" side; and they become part of the tragedy itself when the comic elements threaten the tragic hero with insignificance and absurdity. Susan Snyder is Professor of English at Swarthmore College. Originally published in 1979. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Shakespeare's Comedy of Love

Shakespeare's Comedy of Love PDF Author: Alexander Leggatt
Publisher: Psychology Press
ISBN: 9780415352680
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
This study removes some of the critical puzzles that Shakespeare's comedies of love have posed in the past. The author shows that what distinguishes the comedies is not their similarity but their variety.

Shakespeare's Comedies: A Very Short Introduction

Shakespeare's Comedies: A Very Short Introduction PDF Author: Bart van Es
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0191034959
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 145

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Book Description
From The Two Gentlemen of Verona in the early 1590s to The Two Noble Kinsmen at the end of his career around 1614, Shakespeare wrote at least eighteen plays that can be called 'comedies': a far higher number than that for any other genre in which he wrote. So what is a Shakespearean comedy? We associate these plays with such themes as mistaken identities, happy marriages, and exuberant cross dressing, but how representative are these of the oeuvre as a whole? In this Very Short Introduction, Bart van Es explores the full range of the playwright's comic writing, from the neat classical plotting of early works like The Comedy of Errors to the corrupt world of the so-called problem plays, written in the middle years of Shakespeare's life. Examining Shakespeare's influences and sources, van Es compares his plays to those of his rivals, and looks at the history of the plays in performance, from the biographies of Shakespeare's original actors to the plays' endless reinvention in modern stage productions and in films. Identifying the key qualities that make Shakespearean comedy distinctive, van Es traces the changing nature of Shakespeare's comic writing over the course of a career that spanned nearly a quarter century of theatrical change. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.