Shakespeare in company / Bart van Es.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Van Es, Bart.

Contributor:

Horace Howard Furness Memorial Library (University of Pennsylvania)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616--Friends and associates.

Shakespeare, William.

Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616.

Friends and associates.

Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616--Criticism and interpretation.

Criticism and interpretation.

Physical Description:

xii, 357 pages : illustrations, maps, portrait, facsimiles ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2013.

Contents:

Prologue : Shakespeare's early life and the origins of commercial theatre (1576-1592)

Phase I Shakespeare as conventional poet-playwright (1592-1594)

Imitation and identity

The working conditions of the playwright

Shakespeare as literary dramatist

Phase II Shakespeare as company man (1594-1599)

Control over casting

The events of 1594

Relational drama

Shakespeare's singularity

Phase III Shakespeare as playhouse investor (1599-1608)

The Globe partnership

Robert Armin

The children's companies

Richard Burbage

Phase IV Shakespeare in the company of playwrights again (1608-1614)

The events of 1608

Shakespeare's late style

Shakespeare and co-authorship.

Notes:

"This book is about two very different kinds of company. On the one hand it concerns Shakespeare's poet-playwright contemporaries, such as Marlowe, Jonson, and Fletcher. On the other, it examines the contribution of his fellow actors, including Burbage, Armin, and Kemp. Traditionally, criticism has treated these two influences in separation, so that Shakespeare is considered either in relation to educated Renaissance culture, or as a man of the theatre. Shakespeare in Company unites these perspectives. Bart van Es argues that Shakespeare's decision, in 1594, to become an investor (or 'sharer') in the newly formed Chamberlain's acting company had a transformative effect on his writing, moving him beyond the conventions of Renaissance dramaturgy. On the basis of the physical distinctiveness of his actors, Shakespeare developed 'relational drama', something no previous dramatist had explored. This book traces the evolution of that innovation, showing how Shakespeare responded to changes in the personnel of his acting fellowship and to competing drama, such as that produced for the children's companies after 1599. Covering over two decades of theatrical history, van Es explores the playwright's career through four distinct phases, ending on the conditions that shaped Shakespeare's late style. Paradoxically, Shakespeare emerges as a playwright unique 'in company'--special, in part, because of the unparalleled working conditions that he enjoyed."--Dust jacket.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780199569311

0199569312

OCLC:

802324343