LAUGHING AND WEEPING IN EARLY MODERN THEATRES by Matthew Steggle ( 9781351923002 )

Item Details

Title:

LAUGHING AND WEEPING IN EARLY MODERN THEATRES

By:

Format:

Electronic book text

List price:	£34.99
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ISBN 10:

1351923005

ISBN 13:

9781351923002

Publisher:

TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD

Pub. date:

5 December, 2016

Series:

Studies in Performance and Early Modern Drama

Pages:

172

Synopsis:

Did Shakespeare's original audiences weep? Equally, while it seems obvious that they must have laughed at plays performed in early modern theatres, can we say anything about what their laughter sounded like, about when it occurred, and about how, culturally, it was interpreted? Related to both of these problems of audience behaviour is that of the stage representation of laughing, and weeping, both actions performed with astonishing frequency in early modern drama. Each action is associated with a complex set of non-verbal noises, gestures, and cultural overtones, and each is linked to audience behaviour through one of the axioms of Renaissance dramatic theory: that weeping and laughter on stage cause, respectively, weeping and laughter in the audience. This book is a study of laughter and weeping in English theatres, broadly defined, from around 1550 until their closure in 1642. It is concerned both with the representation of these actions on the stage, and with what can be reconstructed about the laughter and weeping of theatrical audiences themselves, arguing that both actions have a peculiar importance in defining the early modern theatrical experience.

Publication:

Imprint:

Routledge

Returns:

Non-returnable

Some other items by this author:

DIGITAL HUMANITIES AND THE LOST DRAMA OF EARLY MODERN ENGLAND