DOCSLIB.ORG

The Rhetoric of Rank in Early Modern Drama from 1590 to 1642

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Rhetoric of Rank in Early Modern Drama from 1590 to 1642 THE RHETORIC OF RANK IN EARLY MODERN DRAMA FROM 1590 TO 1642 by MATTHEW BURDICK SMITH MICHELLE DOWD, COMMITTEE CHAIR DAVID AINSWORTH LUCY KAUFMAN TRICIA MCELROY CASSANDER SMITH A DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of English in the Graduate School of The University of Alabama TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA 2021 Copyright Matthew Burdick Smith 2021 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT My dissertation, “The Rhetoric of Rank in Early Modern Drama from 1590 to 1642,” argues that early modern dramatic works pull from rhetorical theory to shape social status in a period that underwent significant social transformations. Arguing that dramatists use early modern rhetorical manuals to respond to historically specific social tensions, I explore how dramatists use rhetorical figures to comment on social tensions between ranks, define the social role of emergent social roles, and define social values. While I explore the relationship between early modern drama and rhetorical manuals, I situate my analysis alongside the work of social historians to provide a historically situated account. I argue that rhetorical theory plays a central, though underexamined, role in the formation of those emergent social roles—like merchant or factor—and that dramatists dramatize the process of social (trans)formation through rhetorical figures. Furthermore, social formation itself is a process with often contradictory priorities and perspectives, and I show that dramatists use the semantic flexibility of rhetorical figures to support a range of attitudes that are sympathetic, tolerant, or even hostile towards social change, illustrating that social change is not the inevitable product of historical contexts but a process structured in part by rhetoric. My dissertation traces how rhetoric is used to cultivate civic values among ranks with competing interests, a process rife with social tensions that the drama lays bare. ii DEDICATION To Molly, my wife. Thank you for the limitless support and unending patience. You have made this process not only bearable but thoroughly enjoyable. This dissertation took shape in the many conversations to which I subjected you, and for that I am immensely thankful and terribly sorry. Thank you for your help with editing and proofreading as much as for your wisdom and advice. In this next generation as we voyager and discovery together in this enterprise and others, you will always be my deep space nine. To my family. You have all been an inexhaustible resource of support and advice. Thank you for all you have done in this undertaking and all others. Without your guidance and love, none of this would have been possible. Thank you for being a constant, unwavering source of happiness and understanding. To Demi and Rhys, claws and paws. Thanks for being my silent muses. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my advisor, Professor Michelle Dowd, for her mentorship and guidance. Prof. Dowd, thank you for the hours you spent guiding my direction on this project and for the comments you provided as it gradually took the shape of a dissertation. I thank my committee members, Professors David Ainsworth, Lucy Kaufman, Tricia McElroy, and Cassander Smith. Thank you all for your guidance and for the helpful discussions throughout the process. I appreciate all your training, advice, and support. Thank you all for taking the time to answer questions and for lending your invaluable expertise. I would also like to acknowledge the generous support of the Hudson Strode Program in Renaissance Studies and my colleagues in the program. I would like to thank UA librarians, particularly those in charge of Interlibrary Loans, who no doubt are relieved at the closing of this project. Thanks to the English Department staff and their tremendously helpful assistance. Thanks, too, to the amazing students in my composition and survey courses who reciprocated my interest in rhetoric, rank, and literature. On second thought, perhaps they only endured those discussions, which also warrants fulsome thanks. Above all, I would like to thank my wonderful wife, Molly, who provided an endlessly patient ear, a scrupulous editors’ eye, and unparalleled intellectual and emotional wisdom. This is dedicated to you (whether you would like it or not). iv CONTENTS ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................................ii DEDICATION................................................................................................................................iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................................iv CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................1 CHAPTER II: RHETORICAL EDUCATION IN JONSON AND SHAKESPEARE.................20 I. Introduction..........................................................................................................................20 II. Civilizing Humours in Jonson’s Every Man in his Humour...............................................21 III. Hyperbole in Love’s Labour’s Lost...................................................................................46 CHAPTER III: CIVIL RHETORIC IN HEYWOOD AND MIDDLETON.................................77 I. Introduction..........................................................................................................................77 II. Merchant Mobility in Heywood’s If You Know Not Me, You Know Nobody, Part II….....78 III. Paradiastole and Civil Virtue in Middleton’s Michaelmas Term.....................................102 CHAPTER IV: MANNERED RHETORIC IN SHIRLEY AND BROME................................132 I. Introduction........................................................................................................................132 II. Metalepsis and Manners in Shirley’s Lady of Pleasure....................................................138 III. Paranomasia and Syllepsis in Brome’s New Academy....................................................168 CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION...................................................................................................198 REFERENCES............................................................................................................................206 v CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION In the 1593 edition of The Garden of Eloquence, Henry Peacham notes that eloquence allows the rhetorician to become the “emperour of mens minds & affections, and next to the omnipotent God in the power of perswasion.”1 Peacham’s account of eloquence is a far cry from some contemporary humanists’ sympathy toward commoners; in fact, Peacham’s model of rhetorical skill is seemingly monarchical.2 Peacham promotes an absolutist vision of eloquence wherein the rhetorician’s verbal skill leads the auditor’s free will, the auditor becoming subject to the rhetorically skilled speaker. Peacham underlines a central tenet in early modern rhetorical education and the use of rhetoric in everyday life; namely, rhetoric is always a social action. Early modern rhetoricians and dramatists repeatedly underscore the connection between rhetorical eloquence and social status. In his introduction to The Arte of Rhetorique, Thomas Wilson claims that rhetoric caused humans to transform from beasts to civil beings, saying that “where as Menne lyued Brutyshlye in open feldes,” the early poets “called theim together by vtteraunce of speache, and perswaded with them what was good…and after a certaine space, thei became through nurture and good aduisement, of wilde, sober: of cruel, gentle: of foles, wise: and of beastes, men.”3 For both Wilson and Peacham, rhetorical eloquence was instrumental to 1 Henry Peacham, The Garden of Eloquence (London: Richard Field, 1593), A.B.iiiv. Peacham also claims that “eloquence makes savage nations civil, wild people tame, and cruell tyrants not only to become meek but likewise merciful” (Aiir). 2 For a description of how some rhetoricians, such as Vives and Rainolds, embrace of republican humanism, see Marrku Peltonen, Classical Humanism and Republicanism in English Political Thought 1570-1640 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995). 3 Thomas Wilson, The Arte of Rhetorique (London: 1553), Aiiiv. The poet and dramatist George Chapman mused that the poet uses eloquence to tame people and bring them “from the violent current of natural cruelty to affability and courtesy…bringing savage lives in civil chains” (The Poems of George Chapman, ed. Phyllis Brooks (New 1 the early formation of civil society. Likewise, Ben Jonson maintains that “he must have civil prudence and eloquence” when “he will handle business or carry councils…which commonly is the school of men.”4 Jonson points out that to maintain civil society people must interact with a degree of mannered civility, which is promulgated through rhetoric. These examples underscore a pervasive tendency in early modern thought, suggesting that rhetoric is the early foundation of civil society and that rhetoric maintains civil society by teaching both commoners and the elite lessons about obedience, moderation, manners, and duty to society. While Wilson and Peacham underline that rhetoric is the foundation of civil society, Peter Mack has shown how rhetorical manuals provided a treasure trove of moral axioms for the commonplace books of both the elite and the commoners, saying
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Bringing Richard Brome Online
    This is a repository copy of Bringing Richard Brome Online. White Rose Research Online URL for this paper: http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/105805/ Version: Published Version Article: Hirsch, BD orcid.org/0000-0002-6231-2080 (2010) Bringing Richard Brome Online. Early Theatre, 13 (1). pp. 137-153. ISSN 1206-9078 10.12745/et.13.1.837 This article is protected by copyright. Reproduced in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. Reuse Items deposited in White Rose Research Online are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved unless indicated otherwise. They may be downloaded and/or printed for private study, or other acts as permitted by national copyright laws. The publisher or other rights holders may allow further reproduction and re-use of the full text version. This is indicated by the licence information on the White Rose Research Online record for the item. Takedown If you consider content in White Rose Research Online to be in breach of UK law, please notify us by emailing [email protected] including the URL of the record and the reason for the withdrawal request. [email protected] https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/ Early Theatre Volume 13, Issue 1 2010 Article 7 Bringing Richard Brome Online Brett D. Hirsch∗ ∗University of Western Australia, [email protected] Copyright c 2010 by Early Theatre. Early Theatre is produced by The Berkeley Electronic Press (bepress). http://digitalcommons.mcmaster.ca/earlytheatre Bringing Richard Brome Online Brett D. Hirsch Abstract This review essay assesses Richard Brome Online, an online edition of the collected works of Richard Brome, in terms of the design, functionality, and usability of its features.
    [Show full text]
  • Bills of Attainder
    University at Buffalo School of Law Digital Commons @ University at Buffalo School of Law Journal Articles Faculty Scholarship Winter 2016 Bills of Attainder Matthew Steilen University at Buffalo School of Law Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.law.buffalo.edu/journal_articles Part of the Legal History Commons Recommended Citation Matthew Steilen, Bills of Attainder, 53 Hous. L. Rev. 767 (2016). Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.buffalo.edu/journal_articles/123 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty Scholarship at Digital Commons @ University at Buffalo School of Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal Articles by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ University at Buffalo School of Law. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ARTICLE BILLS OF ATTAINDER Matthew Steilen* ABSTRACT What are bills of attainder? The traditional view is that bills of attainder are legislation that punishes an individual without judicial process. The Bill of Attainder Clause in Article I, Section 9 prohibits the Congress from passing such bills. But what about the President? The traditional view would seem to rule out application of the Clause to the President (acting without Congress) and to executive agencies, since neither passes bills. This Article aims to bring historical evidence to bear on the question of the scope of the Bill of Attainder Clause. The argument of the Article is that bills of attainder are best understood as a summary form of legal process, rather than a legislative act. This argument is based on a detailed historical reconstruction of English and early American practices, beginning with a study of the medieval Parliament rolls, year books, and other late medieval English texts, and early modern parliamentary diaries and journals covering the attainders of Elizabeth Barton under Henry VIII and Thomas Wentworth, earl of Strafford, under Charles I.
    [Show full text]
  • The History, Printing, and Editing of the Returne from Pernassus
    W&M ScholarWorks Undergraduate Honors Theses Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 1-2009 The History, Printing, and Editing of The Returne from Pernassus Christopher A. Adams College of William and Mary Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses Recommended Citation Adams, Christopher A., "The History, Printing, and Editing of The Returne from Pernassus" (2009). Undergraduate Honors Theses. Paper 237. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses/237 This Honors Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Undergraduate Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The History, Printing, and Editing of The Returne from Pernassus A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in English from The College of William and Mary by Christopher A. Adams Accepted for____________________________ (Honors, High Honors, Highest Honors ) _________________________ ___________________________ Paula Blank , Director Monica Potkay , Committee Chair English Department English Department _________________________ ___________________________ Erin Minear George Greenia English Department Modern Language Department Williamsburg, VA December, 2008 1 The History, Printing, and Editing of The Returne from Pernassus 2 Dominus illuminatio mea -ceiling panels of Duke Humfrey’s Library, Oxford 3 Acknowledgments I am deeply indebted to my former adviser, Dr. R. Carter Hailey, for starting me on this pilgrimage with the Parnassus plays. He not only introduced me to the world of Parnassus , but also to the wider world of bibliography. Through his help and guidance I have discovered a fascinating field of research.
    [Show full text]
  • Summer 2007 Shakespeare Matters Page 
    Summer 2007 Shakespeare Matters page 6:4 “Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments...” Summer 2007 11th Annual Shake- speare Authorship Shakespeare—Who Studies Conference Convenes held the Pen? By Bonner Miller Cutting and Earl Showerman Insights Meets Research By Alan Stott oncordia Uni- versity hosted The man of letters is, in truth, ever writing his own biogra- Cits11th an- phy. — Anthony Trollope (1815–82). nual Shakespeare Authorship Studies The marvel of Shakespeare’s genius is that in his secular mir- Conference from ror the divine light also shines. April 12 to 15th, an — John Middleton Murry. occasion marked by many seminal very theatregoer and every reader can perceive the authentic papers, the launch voice, can sense the spirit, in and behind the work of the of the first graduate- Eworld’s leading dramatic poet, known as “William Shake- level programs in speare.” The First Folio (1623) of his collected plays, however, authorship studies, was only published years after his death. Of the actor, one Wil- and the signing of liam Shakespere (1564–1616) — the name never spelt as in the the “Declaration of First Folio — very little is known. Apparently neither manuscript Reasonable Doubt nor letter is extant. The many enigmas surrounding the whole about the Identity phenomenon comprise “the authorship question.” The identity of William Shake- of the Bard, according to Emerson (1803–1882), is “the first of speare.” While this all literary problems.” John Michell1 surveys the candidates with report will attempt a commendable fairness, outlining the history of the search for to summarize the the man who held the pen.
    [Show full text]
  • Part Two Patrons and Printers
    PART TWO PATRONS AND PRINTERS CHAPTER VI PATRONAGE The Significance of Dedications The Elizabethan period was a watershed in the history of literary patronage. The printing press had provided a means for easier publication, distribution and availability of books; and therefore a great patron, the public, was accessible to all authors who managed to get Into print. In previous times there were too many discourage- ments and hardships to be borne so that writing attracted only the dedicated and clearly talented writer. In addition, generous patrons were not at all plentiful and most authors had to be engaged in other occupations to make a living. In the last half of the sixteenth century, a far-reaching change is easily discernible. By that time there were more writers than there were patrons, and a noticeable change occurred In the relationship between patron and protge'. In- stead of a writer quietly producing a piece of literature for his patron's circle of friends, as he would have done in medieval times, he was now merely one of a crowd of unattached suitors clamouring for the favours and benefits of the rich. Only a fortunate few were able to find a patron generous enough to enable them to live by their pen. 1 Most had to work at other vocations and/or cultivate the patronage of the public and the publishers. •The fact that only a small number of persons had more than a few works dedicated to them indicates the difficulty in finding a beneficent patron. An examination of 568 dedications of religious works reveals that only ten &catees received more than ten dedications and only twelve received between four and nine.
    [Show full text]
  • Volume 4 2014
    2101 EAST COLISEUM BOULEVARD FORT WAYNE, IN 46805-1499 Volume 4 2014 Volume Volume 4 2014 Volume 4 2014 EDITORS at Indiana University– at Mount St. Mary’s University Purdue University Fort Wayne Emmitsburg, Maryland M. L. Stapleton, Editor Sarah K. Scott, Associate Editor Cathleen M. Carosella, Managing Editor Jessica Neuenschwander, Pub. Assistant BOARD OF ADVISORS Hardin Aasand, Indiana University–Purdue University, Fort Wayne; David Bevington, University of Chicago; Douglas Bruster, University of Texas, Austin; Dympna Callaghan, Syracuse University; Patrick Cheney, Pennsylvania State University; Sara Deats, University of South Florida; J. A. Downie, Goldsmiths College, University of London; Lisa M. Hopkins, Sheffield Hallam University; Heather James, University of Southern California; Roslyn L. Knutson, University of Arkansas, Little Rock; Robert A. Logan, University of Hartford; Ruth Lunney, University of Newcastle (Australia); Laurie Maguire, Magdalen College, Oxford University; Lawrence Manley, Yale University; Kirk Melnikoff, University of North Carolina at Charlotte; Paul Menzer, Mary Baldwin College; John Parker, University of Virginia; Eric Rasmussen, University of Nevada, Reno; David Riggs, Stanford University; John P. Rumrich, University of Texas, Austin; Carol Chillington Rutter, University of Warwick; Paul Werstine, King's College, University of Western Ontario; Charles Whitney, University of Nevada, Las Vegas Marlowe Studies: An Annual is a journal devoted to studying Christopher Marlowe and his role in the literary culture of his time, including but not limited to studies of his plays and poetry; their sources; relations to genre; lines of influence; classical, medieval, and continental contexts; performance and theater history; textual studies; the author’s professional milieu and place in early modern English poetry, drama, and culture.
    [Show full text]
  • The National Archives Prob 11/63/590 1 ______
    THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES PROB 11/63/590 1 ________________________________________________________________________ SUMMARY: The document below is the Prerogative Court of Canterbury copy of the will, dated 18 April 1581, together with a codicil dated 6 May 1581 and a nuncupative codicil dated 10 May 1581, proved 23 November 1581, of Sir William Cordell (1522 – 17 May 1581), Master of the Rolls, and one of the five trustees appointed by Oxford in an indenture of 30 January 1575 prior to his departure on his continental tour. See ERO D/DRg2/25. For a copy of the testator’s will of lands, dated 1 January 1581, see Howard, Joseph Jackson, ed., The Visitation of Suffolke, (Lowestoft: Samuel Tymms, 1866), Vol. I, pp. 248-59 at: https://books.google.ca/books?id=ExI2AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA248 In the will below the testator states that he had been executor to Sir Roger Cholmley (c.1485–1565), whose daughter, Frances Cholmley, was the first wife of Sir Thomas Russell (c.1520 - 9 April 1574) of Strensham, who by his second wife, Margaret Lygon, was the father of Thomas Russell (1570-1634), overseer of the will of William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon. The testator was appointed supervisor of the will, TNA PROB 11/51/33, of Edmund Beaupre (d. 14 February 1568), esquire, for whose connection to John de Vere (1516- 1562), 16th Earl of Oxford, see the inquisition post mortem taken at Stratford Langthorne on 18 January 1563, five months after the Earl’s death, TNA C 142/136/12: And the foresaid jurors moreover say that before the death of the foresaid late Earl
    [Show full text]
  • Literature, Language & Skills
    INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENGLISH: LITERATURE, LANGUAGE & SKILLS (IJELLS) ISSN 2278-0742 www.ijells.com Volume 3 Issue 1 www.ijells.com 2278 0742 Page | 2 Founding & Chief Editor Profile Dr. Mrudula Lakkaraju, Department of English, Osmania University is trained from EFLU and a Doctorate from Osmania University. She prefers the designation of a trainer and a writer. She has presented several academic articles to international and national seminars, conferences, journals, and magazines. She also renders voluntary services as an editor to another International Journal. Casual and creative writing is also her forte. She is a prolific reader and writer. Volume 3 Issue 1 April 2014 www.ijells.com 2278 0742 Dr. G. Venkata Ramana, Head of Writers Division English Writers and Software Solutions Page | 3 Dr. George Kolanchery, Multimedia Language Lab Supervisor, Dhofar University, Sultanate of Oman Dr. Thirunavukkarasu Karunakaran English Language Teaching Centre, University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Dr. Deepti Gupta Professor, English Panjab University Chandigarh Dr. Asha Choubey Associate Professor of English Head, Dept. of Humanities MJP Rohilkhand University Bareilly Dr. Mohammad Shaukat Ansari Associate Professor of English, M.L.S.M. College, Darbhanga, Bihar Dr. Hareshwar Roy Assistant Professor, English Govt. Autonomous P.G. College Satna Satna, Madhya Pradesh Dr. Ravi Bhushan Assistant Professor of English Bhagat Phool Singh Mahila Vishwavidyalaya Khanpur Kalan, Sonipat, Haryana Volume 3 Issue 1 April 2014 www.ijells.com 2278 0742 Dear Readers and Contributors, Welcome to the Volume 3 Issue 1 of IJELLS. We now enter the third year of our Page | 4 journey; it on one hand gives us a sense of contentment yet on the other hand alerts us into the daunting task of sustaining and developing this academic enterprise.
    [Show full text]
  • Performance, Professionalization, and the Early Modern English Schoolmaster Michael Andrew Albright Lehigh University, [email protected]
    Lehigh University Lehigh Preserve Theses and Dissertations 1-1-2013 You're a teacher because you say you are: Performance, Professionalization, and the Early Modern English Schoolmaster Michael Andrew Albright Lehigh University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://preserve.lehigh.edu/etd Part of the English Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation Albright, Michael Andrew, "You're a teacher because you say you are: Performance, Professionalization, and the Early Modern English Schoolmaster" (2013). Theses and Dissertations. 4263. https://preserve.lehigh.edu/etd/4263 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by Lehigh Preserve. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Lehigh Preserve. For more information, please contact [email protected]. “You’re a teacher because you say you are”: Performance, Professionalization, and the Early Modern English Schoolmaster by Michael Andrew Albright A Dissertation Presented to the Graduate and Research Committee of Lehigh University in Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English Lehigh University May 20, 2013 © 2013 Copyright Michael A. Albright ii Approved and recommended for acceptance as a dissertation in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Michael A. Albright “You’re a teacher because you say you are”: Performance, Professionalization, and the Early Modern English Schoolmaster Dr. Barbara H. Traister Dissertation Director Approved Date Committee Members: Dr. Scott Paul Gordon Dr. Jenna Lay Dr. Edward Shapiro iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Without the unwavering support of my family, friends, and professors, this project would not have come to fruition.
    [Show full text]
  • Partbooks and the Music Collection Will Be Open from 12 May to 13 August 2016 in the Upper Library at Christ Church
    Tudor Partbooks and the Music Collection will be open from 12 May to 13 August 2016 in the Upper Library at Christ Church. The exhibition showcases the music-books used by singers in the age of Queen Elizabeth I, with special emphasis on partbooks. This is the result of a successful collaboration with the Tudor Partbooks Project (Oxford University, Faculty of Music) and the Oxford Early Music Festival. The exhibition is curated by Dr John Milsom and Dr Cristina Neagu. Visiting hours: Monday - Friday 10.00 am - 1.00 pm 2:00 pm - 4.30 pm (provided there is a member of staff available in the Upper Library). The new exhibition opened with a concert by Magnificat, featuring pieces from the Christ Church Music Collection. This is one of the world’s premier vocal ensembles, internationally acclaimed for its performance of Renaissance choral masterpieces. Concert programme Robert White Christe qui lux Lamentations William Byrd Come to me grief O that most rare breast Thomas Tallis Salvator mundi (II) Salvator mundi (I) The concert was followed by a talk by Dr John Milsom, leading Tudor music scholar, and a drinks reception in the Cathedral. Tudor partbooks and the music collection Detail from Mus 864b choirbooks 1. CHOIRBOOK LAYOUT: A CLASSIC FOUR-VOICE MOTET In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, church choirs typically sang from large choirbooks, in which different areas of the double-page spread displayed the various voice-parts of a composition. This example shows the famous Ave Maria … virgo serena by Josquin Desprez. Each of the motet’s four voices is headed with a large capital A.
    [Show full text]
  • Scripted Improvisation in the Antipodes
    ISSUES IN REVIEW 129 ‘Now mark that fellow; he speaks Extempore’: Scripted Improvisation in The Antipodes Concluding his near-paraphrase of Hamlet’s famous advice to the players, Letoy in Richard Brome’s The Antipodes chastises Byplay, an actor with a penchant for improvisation, with the following lines: But you, sir, are incorrigible, and Take license to yourself to add unto Your parts your own free fancy, and sometimes To alter or diminish what the writer With care and skill compos’d; and when you are To speak to your coactors in the scene, You hold interlocutions with the audients— (2.1.93–9)1 Unlike the silent company Hamlet addresses, whose leader assents to Hamlet’s presumptuous lessons with only ‘I warrant your honour’ and a slightly more defensive ‘I hope we have reformed that indifferently with us, sir’ (3.2.13, 30),2 Byplay argues back saying, ‘That is a way, my lord, has been allowed / On elder stages to move mirth and laughter.’ ‘Yes’, Letoy replies, ‘in the days of Tarlton and Kemp, / Before the stage was purged from barbarism, / And brought to the perfection it now shines with’ (2.1.100–4) . Scholars often acknowledge, like Letoy, that improvisation played a signifi- cant role in early English theatre. Actors playing Vice characters in Tudor the- atre improvised before and after the plays in which they performed.3 Renais- sance texts contain stage directions instructing actors to improvise—Greene’s Tu Quoque (1611), for example, includes a direction for characters to ‘talk and rail what they list’ and The Trial of Chivalry (1601) contains the remark- able direction, ‘speaks anything, and Exit’.4 Elizabethan clowns, and in par- ticular Richard Tarlton and William Kemp, were famous for their ability to improvise.
    [Show full text]
  • SFU Thesis Template Files
    The Lisle Letters: Lady Honor Lisle’s epistolary influence by Jasmine Nicholsfigueiredo B.Ed., Simon Fraser University, 2004 M.A. English, Queen’s University, 2002 B.A. English, Simon Fraser University, 2001 Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of English Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Jasmine Nicholsfigueiredo 2014 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Summer 2014 Approval Name: Jasmine Nicholsfigueiredo Degree: Doctor of Philosophy (English) Title: The Lisle Letters: Lady Honor Lisle’s Epistolary Influence Examining Committee: Chair: Dr. Jon Smith Associate Professor Dr. Paul Delany Senior Supervisor Professor Emeritus Dr. Lara Campbell Supervisor Associate Professor Chair of the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Dr. Anne Higgins Internal Examiner Associate Professor Dr. Holly Nelson External Examiner Associate Professor Department of English Trinity Western University Date Defended: May 5, 2014 ii Partial Copyright Licence iii Abstract This dissertation offers an original contribution to Tudor studies by examining The Lisle Letters as an illuminating example of how aristocratic Tudor women used the epistle to manipulate networks of obligation and gain socio-political influence. Women, such as Lady Honor Lisle, the primary subject of this study, fashioned letters to create and maintain communities of influence in order to assist their families, advance their social position, and bring various other projects to fruition. By using the lens of practice theory to examine the Lisle Letters, I will demonstrate that the relational aspects governing an individual’s agency, in the light of ever-changing variables – friends, kinship groups, societal knowledge, socio-economic status, and so on – are what allowed aristocratic women such as Lady Lisle to exercise influence, despite the fact they could not hold official positions of power, such as judge, magistrate, or Lord Privy Seal.
    [Show full text]