THE DESIGNATION OF GENERAL SCENE IN ENGLISH DRAMATIC TEXTS, 1500-1685 Item Type text; Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Glenn, Susan Macdonald Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 03/10/2021 14:50:58 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/298489 INFORMATION TO USERS This was produced from a copy of a document sent to us for microfilming. While the most advanced technological means to photograph and reproduce this document have been used, the quality is heavily dependent upon the quality of the material submitted. 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Ml J8106 '3131 761-4700 THE DESIGNATION OF GENERAL SCENE IN ENGLISH DRAMATIC TEXTS, 1500-1685 by Susan Macdonald Glenn A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 19 7 9 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE I hereby recommend that this dissertation prepared under my direction by Susan Leah MacDonald Glenn entitled Designation of General Scene in English Dramatic Texts, 1500-1685 be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for the degree of Ph.D. i\ /w7? Dissertation Directo^ Date As members of the Final Examination Committee, we certify that we have read this dissertation and agree that it may be presented for final defense. u{ *U)('7-g "/-ic/V? ll/l-C/lg Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent on the candidate's adequate performance and defense thereof at the final oral examination. STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to bor­ rowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or re­ production of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in his judgment the proposed use of the material is in the in­ terests of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. SIGNED ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am grateful to many people for their help in the work of researching and writing this dissertation. I want to thank especially Dr. Richard Hosley, the dissertation advisor, who devoted his time and considerable expertise to this undertaking and whose comments guided rr\y thinking and my writing. I am also grateful to Dr. Peter Medine and Dr. Wilfred Jewkes, who read the text and provided valuable criticism. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES v ABSTRACT vi I. THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM 1 II. ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF THE PRACTICE OF SCENE- DESIGNATION 15 III. THE FORM OF THE SCENE-DESIGNATION 31 IV. A RATIONALE FOR THE PRACTICE OF SCENE- DESIGNATION 58 APPENDIX A: STATEMENTS OF LOCALE AND SCENE- DESIGNATIONS IN CLASSICAL GREEK DRAMATIC TEXTS, 1498-1580 86 APPENDIX B: SCENE-DESIGNATIONS IN SELECTED ITALIAN DRAMATIC TEXTS, 1630-1678 91 APPENDIX C: SCENE-DESIGNATIONS IN SELECTED FRENCH DRAMATIC TEXTS, 1566-1682 97 APPENDIX D: SCENE-DESIGNATIONS IN ENGLISH DRAMATIC TEXTS, 1573-1659 103 APPENDIX E: SCENE-DESIGNATIONS IN SELECTED ENGLISH DRAMATIC TEXTS, 1660-1685 114 REFERENCES 123 iv LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Percentage of Enalish Texts with Scene-designations, 1616-1659. 28 v ABSTRACT In English dramatic texts, a designation of general locale is usually provided in a brief elliptical formula, called a scene-desig­ nation, that is printed with the dramatis personae. The preferred English formula ("The Scene, [geographical place-name]"), names the locale in as inclusive a term as is necessary, and the designation of more than one locale is generally avoided. While scene-designations are common in modern dramatic texts, they were not provided in English texts until the last three decades of the sixteenth century, and they did not become frequently used until the third decade of the seventeenth century. In this study, I examine the origins of the practice of desig­ nating locale by tracing the use of scene-designations in continental and English texts, and I explore possible rationales for the practice by analyzing the wording of the scene-designations themselves. The formulaic scene-designation probably originated in the statements of locale that appear in some of the arguments to the classi­ cal Greek plays. These statements of locale are similar to scene-desig­ nations in that they follow a formulaic pattern, as in "ti oicnvri toO 6payaxos wnkeiTcu ev'Apyei." But unlike scene-designations, these statements of locale are found in the arguments, not set off from them. The Latin statements of locale that appear in some comic prologues do not follow a recognizable pattern, but they do have a succinct style that may have influenced the wording of vernacular scene-designations. vi vii The early scene-designations that I found in both Italian and French texts have clear parallels in the Greek statement of locale. However, scene-designations apparently do not become frequently used in Italian texts until around 1570, and in French texts until around 1635. And by 1570, the preferred Italian formula ("La Scena e in [geographical place-name]") has been simplified from its earliest examples. Likewise, by 1635, the preferred French formula ("La Scene est a [geographical place-name]") is simpler than the early example. In English drama, only 11 texts of the 292 printed before 1616 contain scene-designations, these texts ranging in date from 1573 to 1607. After 1616, the frequency with which scene-designations are pro­ vided in English texts begins to rise, until, in the decade 1636-45, 41% of 93 printed texts are so provided. The great majority of English scene- designations use the brief formula"The Scene, [geographical place-name]." While this formula is the preferred way of designating locale, there are some enlightening examples of English scene-designations that deviate from this formula. For example, some scene-designations explicit­ ly state that the play in question has observed the dramatic unities. Others provide the duration of the play's action, thus implying that the unities of time and place have been observed. Still others express two locales in language that suggests the locales are close enough to be considered unified. All these examples imply that one function of a scene-designation is to indicate that the play in question has observed unity of place. There is evidence, moreover, that this same rationale vi i i affects the presence of some scene-designations in Italian and French texts.