Prologues to Shakespeare's Theatre

Performance and Liminality in Early Modern Drama

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, British
Cover of the book Prologues to Shakespeare's Theatre by Douglas Bruster, Robert Weimann, Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Douglas Bruster, Robert Weimann ISBN: 9781134313709
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: August 2, 2004
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author: Douglas Bruster, Robert Weimann
ISBN: 9781134313709
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: August 2, 2004
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

This eye-opening study draws attention to the largely neglected form of the early modern prologue. Reading the prologue in performed as well as printed contexts, Douglas Bruster and Robert Weimann take us beyond concepts of stability and autonomy in dramatic beginnings to reveal the crucial cultural functions performed by the prologue in Elizabethan England.
While its most basic task is to seize the attention of a noisy audience, the prologue's more significant threshold position is used to usher spectators and actors through a rite of passage. Engaging competing claims, expectations and offerings, the prologue introduces, authorizes and, critically, straddles the worlds of the actual theatrical event and the 'counterfeit' world on stage. In this way, prologues occupy a unique and powerful position between two orders of cultural practice and perception.
Close readings of prologues by Shakespeare and his contemporaries, including Marlowe, Peele and Lyly, demonstrate the prologue's role in representing both the world in the play and playing in the world. Through their detailed examination of this remarkable form and its functions, the authors provide a fascinating perspective on early modern drama, a perspective that enriches our knowledge of the plays' socio-cultural context and their mode of theatrical address and action.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

This eye-opening study draws attention to the largely neglected form of the early modern prologue. Reading the prologue in performed as well as printed contexts, Douglas Bruster and Robert Weimann take us beyond concepts of stability and autonomy in dramatic beginnings to reveal the crucial cultural functions performed by the prologue in Elizabethan England.
While its most basic task is to seize the attention of a noisy audience, the prologue's more significant threshold position is used to usher spectators and actors through a rite of passage. Engaging competing claims, expectations and offerings, the prologue introduces, authorizes and, critically, straddles the worlds of the actual theatrical event and the 'counterfeit' world on stage. In this way, prologues occupy a unique and powerful position between two orders of cultural practice and perception.
Close readings of prologues by Shakespeare and his contemporaries, including Marlowe, Peele and Lyly, demonstrate the prologue's role in representing both the world in the play and playing in the world. Through their detailed examination of this remarkable form and its functions, the authors provide a fascinating perspective on early modern drama, a perspective that enriches our knowledge of the plays' socio-cultural context and their mode of theatrical address and action.

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book The Space Between the Notes by Douglas Bruster, Robert Weimann
Cover of the book Brand Mascots by Douglas Bruster, Robert Weimann
Cover of the book The Routledge Companion to Inter-American Studies by Douglas Bruster, Robert Weimann
Cover of the book Implementing Mobile TV by Douglas Bruster, Robert Weimann
Cover of the book Behavioral Assessment in School Psychology by Douglas Bruster, Robert Weimann
Cover of the book The Political Economy of U.S. Monetary Policy by Douglas Bruster, Robert Weimann
Cover of the book Couples in Conflict by Douglas Bruster, Robert Weimann
Cover of the book Qualitative Inquiry in Higher Education Organization and Policy Research by Douglas Bruster, Robert Weimann
Cover of the book The Afterlife of Used Things by Douglas Bruster, Robert Weimann
Cover of the book The Essentials of Marketing Research by Douglas Bruster, Robert Weimann
Cover of the book Republican Ascendancy in Southern U.S. House Elections by Douglas Bruster, Robert Weimann
Cover of the book Social Theory, Sport, Leisure by Douglas Bruster, Robert Weimann
Cover of the book Letting Go of Self-Destructive Behaviors by Douglas Bruster, Robert Weimann
Cover of the book Martyrs and Players in Early Modern England by Douglas Bruster, Robert Weimann
Cover of the book Mathematics in the Early Years by Douglas Bruster, Robert Weimann
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy