The Comic Matrix of Shakespeare's Tragedies

The Comic Matrix of Shakespeare's Tragedies

Author: Susan Snyder

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2019-01-29

Total Pages: 400

ISBN-13: 0691196621

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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.


Mixing of Genres. Comic Aspects in William Shakespeare's Tragedy "Othello"

Mixing of Genres. Comic Aspects in William Shakespeare's Tragedy

Author: Annika Klement

Publisher: GRIN Verlag

Published: 2018-09-10

Total Pages: 15

ISBN-13: 3668792933

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Seminar paper from the year 2016 in the subject Didactics for the subject English - Literature, Works, grade: 1,7, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, course: Modes and Forms of Literature, language: English, abstract: This following term paper deals with generic definitions as well as with comic aspects in Othello, how they are entangled in the tragic action and how they serve to shape the tragedy. Firstly, I shall try to assign Othello to a specific category, namely tragedy. Therefore, Tragedy and Comedy will be clearly defined. In chapter 3, the play will be analysed in terms of its comic aspects. The focus is primarily put on the subject of love in Othello and secondly on the multi-layered character Iago. The aim of this chapter, as it is of the whole term paper, is to illustrate that the tragedy Othello contains comic features.


William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

Author: Harold Bloom

Publisher: Infobase Publishing

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 1438129424

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Presents a collection of critical essays on the works of William Shakespeare.


Shakespeare

Shakespeare

Author: Susan Snyder

Publisher: University of Delaware Press

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 252

ISBN-13: 9780874137958

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In the process she contributed some of the best work on Shakespeare that was then extant, as this collection demonstrates." "Searching for a principle of organization, Professor Snyder decided that it would be best to arrange the essays in chronological order. The result was a kind of "intellectual autobiography," as she calls it in her Preface, and the title she chose was Shakespeare: A Wayward Journey, since it reflects her travels over the various avenues of Shakespearean criticism."--BOOK JACKET.


Shakespeare's Tragedies

Shakespeare's Tragedies

Author: Emma Smith

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2008-04-15

Total Pages: 384

ISBN-13: 0470776897

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This Guide steers students through the critical writing on Shakespeare’s tragedies from the sixteenth century to the present day. Guides students through four centuries of critical writing on Shakespeare’s tragedies. Covers both significant early views and recent critical interventions. Substantial editorial material links the articles and places them in context. Annotated suggestions for further reading allow students to investigate further.


Shakespeare's Tragedies

Shakespeare's Tragedies

Author: Dieter Mehl

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1986

Total Pages: 286

ISBN-13: 9780521316903

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Twelve plays are examined individually regarding their origins, stage and critical histories and the problems associated with their categorization as tragedy.


The Comic in Shakespeare

The Comic in Shakespeare

Author: David Ellis

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Published: 2022-07-18

Total Pages: 285

ISBN-13: 1527585530

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Dr Johnson believed that Shakespeare was at his best in ‘comic scenes’, but it is a long time since anyone explained convincingly what in the plays was intended to make us smile or laugh. This book serves to remedy that situation by concentrating mainly, but by no means exclusively, on the seismic shift in the development of Shakespeare’s writing which took place after Will Kemp was replaced by Robert Armin as his theatre company’s professional clown. Without disdaining help from both old and recent theorists of comedy, this new book is written in a jargon-free prose accessible to all those who, academic or otherwise, are interested in Shakespeare’s plays. It challenges the age-old distinctions between high and low in comedy, and tracks Shakespeare through to the time when he was no longer finding the world so funny.


Shakespeare's Tragedies and Modern Critical Theory

Shakespeare's Tragedies and Modern Critical Theory

Author: James Cunningham

Publisher: Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 252

ISBN-13: 9780838637111

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Individual chapters deal with cultural materialism, new historicism, poststructuralism, and feminist criticism. The theoretical basis of each critical mode is examined and some representative critiques analyzed. Most importantly, in each chapter the various interpretations are tested against Shakespeare's texts, and the strengths and weaknesses of the different readings are assessed.


King Lear

King Lear

Author: William Shakespeare

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 1998-06-01

Total Pages: 400

ISBN-13: 1101142278

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The Signet Classics edition of one of William Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies. Full of cruelty and betrayal, King Lear is the timeless and tragic story of a kingdom held in the thrall of an aging ruler’s descent into madness. Desperate for praise, he banishes those who would guide him with honesty and surrounds himself with sycophants—an action that leads to his ultimate downfall.... This revised Signet Classics edition includes unique features such as: • An overview of Shakespeare's life, world, and theater • A special introduction to the play by the editor, Russell Fraser • Selections from Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland, Sir Philip Sidney's Arcadia, and The True Chronicle History of King Lear, the sources from which Shakespeare derived King Lear • Dramatic criticism from Samuel Johnson, A. C. Bradley, John Russell Brown, and others • A comprehensive stage and screen history of notable actors, directors, and productions • Text, notes, and commentaries printed in the clearest, most readable text • And more...