Shakespeare's Dramatic Style at the Curtain Playhouse (1597-99)
| dc.contributor.advisor | Bennett, Susan | |
| dc.contributor.author | Blyth, Benjamin Alfred | |
| dc.contributor.committeemember | Ellis, Jim | |
| dc.contributor.committeemember | Jenkins, Jacqueline | |
| dc.contributor.committeemember | Purcell, Stephen | |
| dc.contributor.committeemember | Palacios, Joy | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-02-02T17:12:56Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-02-02T17:12:56Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2024-01-31 | |
| dc.description.abstract | My project was prompted by the Museum of London Archaeology’s (MOLA) excavations of the Curtain site in 2016. These revealed a rectangular playhouse that was so well-preserved it provided an unprecedentedly detailed set of performance conditions to study Shakespeare’s Shoreditch plays. Approaching the term “style” as a composite of what a dramatic text is made of/from (aesthetics) and how it is used (utility), I develop a hybrid methodology in this study that reanimates features of John Russell Brown’s 1970 book Shakespeare’s Dramatic Style and applies the latest advances in textual studies, theatre history, and practice-as-research (PaR) to show a new style of Shakespeare at the Curtain. The Lord Chamberlain’s Men relocated to the Curtain in 1597 after suffering a series of personal, legal, and financial setbacks and remained there until the new Globe opened in the summer of 1599. During this time, Shakespeare was an ambitious but cash-strapped playwright who retooled old plays to pull in new crowds (Romeo and Juliet), cashed-in on popular characters with sure-fire spin-offs (The Merry Wives of Windsor), and found innovative solutions for the Curtain’s fluid audiences (Henry V). In a series of three sequential case studies, I demonstrate that Shakespeare adapted his dramatic style to account for the unique circumstances and challenges presented by Curtain performance. The result was a raucous, violent, and interactive style of Shakespeare, unlike any other stage in his career or at any other playhouse. My research was heavily impacted by Covid-19, and consequently these findings have implications that reach beyond the study’s motivating purpose. In addition to providing new critical territory that engages scholars from across a broad range of disciplines in productive new conversations about Shakespeare’s style, my study presents a model that connects dramatic texts with their sites of performance while reducing geographical barriers to participation. | |
| dc.identifier.citation | Blyth, B. A. (2024). Shakespeare’s dramatic style at the Curtain Playhouse (1597-99) (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/1880/118155 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/42999 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher.faculty | Graduate Studies | |
| dc.publisher.institution | University of Calgary | |
| dc.rights | University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. | |
| dc.subject | Shakespeare | |
| dc.subject | Style | |
| dc.subject | Curtain Playhouse | |
| dc.subject | Shoreditch | |
| dc.subject | Site | |
| dc.subject.classification | Literature--English | |
| dc.title | Shakespeare's Dramatic Style at the Curtain Playhouse (1597-99) | |
| dc.type | doctoral thesis | |
| thesis.degree.discipline | English | |
| thesis.degree.grantor | University of Calgary | |
| thesis.degree.name | Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) | |
| ucalgary.thesis.accesssetbystudent | I require a thesis withhold – I need to delay the release of my thesis due to a patent application, and other reasons outlined in the link above. I have/will need to submit a thesis withhold application. |