Shakespeare's Dramatic GenresThe history of genres, or kinds, of drama is one of contradictory traditions and complex cultural assumptions. The divisions established by the original edition of Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies (the First Folio, 1623) give shape to whole curricula; but, as Lawrence Danson reminds us in this lively book, there is nothing inevitable, and much unsatisfying, about that tripartite scheme. Yet students of Shakespeare cannot avoid thinking about questions of genre; often they are the unspoken reason why classrooms full of smart people fail to agree on basic interpretive issues. Danson's guide to the kinds of Shakespearean drama provides an accessible account of genre-theory in Shakespeare's day, an overview of the genres on the Elizabethan stage, and a provocative look at the full range of Shakespeare's comedies, histories, and tragedies. |
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Page 72
... lovers are just ' More sacks to the mill ' . Closer to the ground things look different . In A Midsummer Night's ... lover or husband or wife whose reciprocal identity defines their own . To find oneself in Shakespeare's comedies is to ...
... lovers are just ' More sacks to the mill ' . Closer to the ground things look different . In A Midsummer Night's ... lover or husband or wife whose reciprocal identity defines their own . To find oneself in Shakespeare's comedies is to ...
Page 79
... lovers . ROSALINE Amen , so you be none . BIRON Nay , then I will be gone . ( 2. 1. 119-27 ) Here Rosaline wins a point from ' Biron , the merry madcap lord ' . ( ' Not a word with him but a jest ' , ' And every jest but a word ' , ' It ...
... lovers . ROSALINE Amen , so you be none . BIRON Nay , then I will be gone . ( 2. 1. 119-27 ) Here Rosaline wins a point from ' Biron , the merry madcap lord ' . ( ' Not a word with him but a jest ' , ' And every jest but a word ' , ' It ...
Page 121
... lovers . ( Their very youthfulness , which would make them at home in comedy , makes them anomalous in Shakespeare's tragedies . ) And the play takes its special kind of poignant beauty from the audience's knowledge that all their ...
... lovers . ( Their very youthfulness , which would make them at home in comedy , makes them anomalous in Shakespeare's tragedies . ) And the play takes its special kind of poignant beauty from the audience's knowledge that all their ...
Contents
The Genres Staged | 30 |
Mr William Shakespeares Comedies | 57 |
History | 86 |
Copyright | |
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