The Victorian Cult of Shakespeare

The Victorian Cult of Shakespeare

Author: Charles LaPorte

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2020-11-05

Total Pages: 227

ISBN-13: 1108853463

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In the Victorian era, William Shakespeare's work was often celebrated as a sacred text: a sort of secular English Bible. Even today, Shakespeare remains a uniquely important literary figure. Yet Victorian criticism took on religious dimensions that now seem outlandish in retrospect. Ministers wrote sermons based upon Shakespearean texts and delivered them from pulpits in Christian churches. Some scholars crafted devotional volumes to compare his texts directly with the Bible's. Still others created Shakespearean societies in the faith that his inspiration was not like that of other playwrights. Charles LaPorte uses such examples from the Victorian cult of Shakespeare to illustrate the complex relationship between religion, literature and secularization. His work helps to illuminate a curious but crucial chapter in the history of modern literary studies in the West, as well as its connections with Biblical scholarship and textual criticism.


Shakespeare and Victorian Women

Shakespeare and Victorian Women

Author: Gail Marshall

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2009-03-19

Total Pages: 213

ISBN-13: 0521515238

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The first full-length study of Shakespeare's influence on Victorian women writers, actresses and readers.


Shakespeare's Victorian Stage

Shakespeare's Victorian Stage

Author: Richard W. Schoch

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1998-08-20

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 9780521622813

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book explores the revivals of Shakespeare's history plays during the Victorian period, as staged by the famous actor-manager Charles Kean. Between 1852 and 1859, Kean produced celebrated productions of Henry V, Henry VIII, King John, Macbeth and Richard II, renowned for their unprecendented attention to antiquarian detail in sets, costumes, and properties (many of which are shown in the book's illustrations). These productions provided audiences with an unparalleled opportunity to participate in the Victorian obsession with history, especially of the medieval period. Using valuable primary sources, including promptbooks, scenic designs, costume sketches and contemporary reviews, Richard Schoch places mid-Victorian attitudes towards the theatre in the context of major intellectual and political movements of the age. The book will be of interest to scholars and students of theatre history, Shakespeare studies and Victorian culture.


Shakespeare and the Victorian Stage

Shakespeare and the Victorian Stage

Author: Richard Foulkes

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2008-11-06

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780521089531

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The contributions to this book constitute a concerted account of the place of Shakespeare in the Victorian theatre and the cultural life of the country in the nineteenth century. They explore the changing styles of acting and staging used for Shakespeare's plays by Macready, Charles Kean, the Irvings, Ellen Terry and Beerbohm Tree, and examine Shakespeare's influence on Victorian dramatists (Sheridan Knowles, Albery and W.S. Gilbert) and the relationship between the stage and the allied arts of painting (David Scott, the Pre-Raphaelites and Alma-Tadema) and music (Sullivan). During Queen Victoria's reign Shakespeare's plays attracted new audiences from the court at Windsor to such rapidly expanding conurbations as Leicester and Sheffield. In France, Germany, Italy and the New World, Shakespeare effectively became an ambassador of Britain's growing power and influence. The book develops a fascinating and well-illustrated account of these changes.


Punch and Shakespeare in the Victorian Era

Punch and Shakespeare in the Victorian Era

Author: Alan R. Young

Publisher: Peter Lang

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 9783039110780

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The English humour magazine Punch, or the London Charivari, which first appeared in 1841, quickly became something of a national institution with a large and multi-layered readership. Though comic in tone, Punch was deeply serious about upholding high literary and artistic standards, about dealing with serious subject-matter, and about attempting to nurture its readers' appreciation of the national drama and of Shakespeare's plays in particular. The author's detailed examination of Punch's constant advocacy of Shakespeare reveals telling new evidence concerning the ubiquitous presence of Shakespeare within Victorian culture. New research in the Punch archives and elsewhere also reveals the identities of many of the Punch authors and artists. The author shows how those who worked for Punch often subsumed their collective identities within the single persona of Mr. Punch, a fictional creation who repeatedly presents himself in both texts and graphics as a close friend and admirer of Shakespeare, a man able to remind Victorian readers constantly of the supreme literary and moral values represented by Shakespeare's works.


The Tragedy of Titus Andronicus

The Tragedy of Titus Andronicus

Author: William Shakespeare

Publisher: BoD - Books on Demand

Published: 2024-04-01

Total Pages: 127

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

"The Tragedy of Titus Andronicus" by William Shakespeare is a gripping and intense drama that explores themes of revenge, betrayal, and the destructive consequences of violence. Set in ancient Rome, the play follows the tragic downfall of the noble general Titus Andronicus and his family as they become embroiled in a cycle of vengeance and bloodshed. At the heart of the story is the brutal conflict between Titus Andronicus and Tamora, Queen of the Goths, whose sons are executed by Titus as retribution for their crimes. In retaliation, Tamora and her lover, Aaron the Moor, orchestrate a series of heinous acts of revenge against Titus and his family, plunging them into a spiral of madness and despair. As the body count rises and the atrocities escalate, Titus is consumed by grief and rage, leading to a climactic showdown that culminates in a shocking and tragic conclusion. Along the way, Shakespeare explores themes of honor, justice, and the nature of humanity, offering a searing indictment of the cycle of violence and the capacity for cruelty that lies within us all.


The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Stage

The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Stage

Author: Stanley Wells

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2002-05-30

Total Pages: 342

ISBN-13: 9780521797115

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This 2002 Companion is designed for readers interested in past and present productions of Shakespeare's plays, both in and beyond Britain. The first six chapters describe aspects of the British performing tradition in chronological sequence, from the early staging of Shakespeare's own time, through to the present day. Each relates Shakespearean developments to broader cultural concerns and adopts an individual approach and focus, on textual adaptation, acting, stages, scenery or theatre management. These are followed by three explorations of acting: tragic and comic actors and women performers of Shakespeare roles. A section on international performance includes chapters on interculturalism, on touring companies and on political theatre, with separate accounts of the performing traditions of North America, Asia and Africa. Over forty pictures illustrate peformers and productions of Shakespeare from around the world. An amalgamated list of items for further reading completes the book.


Shakespeare and the Victorians

Shakespeare and the Victorians

Author: Stuart Sillars

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2013-11

Total Pages: 227

ISBN-13: 0199668078

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Shakespeare and the Victorians explores the place of Shakespeare in Victorian culture, and shows how the plays and the man became central to all levels of Victorian life and thought.


Shakespeare And The Victorians

Shakespeare And The Victorians

Author: Adrian Poole

Publisher: A&C Black

Published: 2014-03-20

Total Pages: 311

ISBN-13: 1408143720

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Adrian Poole examines the Victorian's obsession with Shakespeare, his impact upon the era's consciousness, and the expression of this in their drama, novels and poetry. The book features detailed discussion of the interpretations and applications of Shakespeare by major figures such as Dickens and Hardy, Tennyson and Browning, as well as those less well-known.