Ferretti Dissertation FINAL
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“MAKE SEVERAL KINGDOMS OF THIS MONARCHY”: PLACE AND IDENTITY IN EARLY MODERN DRAMA by ALEXANDRA STEWART FERRETTI SHARON O’DAIR, COMMITTEE CHAIR DAVID AINSWORTH STEVE BURCH JENNIFER DROUIN TRICIA MCELROY 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 2015 Copyright Alexandra Stewart Ferretti 2015 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT In the phenomenological theory of space and place, best articulated by Yi-Fu Tuan, Edward Casey, J.E. Malpas, and Michel de Certeau, an individual’s experiences inscribe a space (or an undifferentiated area) and make it a place; that place and those experiences contribute to an individual’s identity. In applying this theory to early modern English drama, I contend that we can better understand how Elizabethan and Jacobean playwrights responded to the displacement of the English population, as many provincial English moved to London and acquired new physical and social places. Elizabethan playwrights Thomas Kyd and Christopher Marlowe suggest physical place is essential to a character’s identity. For later playwrights like William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson, however, physical place is significant but not as central. Instead, as phenomenological theorists posit, place and experiences both contribute to identity. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am grateful to many people who have given me their time and attention during the writing of this dissertation. Heartfelt thanks go first to my dissertation director, Sharon O’Dair, whose constructive feedback and close reading of all versions of this dissertation ensured that I produced a work of which I could be proud. I am also appreciative of the comments and feedback from my other committee members, David Ainsworth, Steve Burch, Jennifer Drouin, and Tricia McElroy. I especially appreciate the guidance they gave me during the early stages of this project and their encouragement to do more reading and thinking about my topic. My thanks to all those individuals who were not on my committee but who still read drafts and gave me much needed guidance. I would like to thank UA Writing Center Director Luke Niiler for giving me the space (or, rather, place) to write my dissertation during the University of Alabama’s Dissertation Writers’ Retreat. I also appreciate the opportunities he gave us to discuss our topic and receive feedback from people who were not in our discipline. Sincere appreciation also goes to Hannah Wilkes, who read and commented on several chapters and helped me rethink sections of this work. A final set of thanks goes to my amazing family. First to my parents, who have always wholeheartedly supported me in all my endeavors. Second to my toddler Gabriella, who—though largely uninterested in my dissertation topic—let Mommy go to Tuskawoosa (Tuscaloosa) when I needed to go. And finally to my husband Dan, who is incredibly supportive of everything I do, who listens when I need to talk things out, who takes care of Gabby when I cannot, who reads iii drafts despite his own demanding job, and who does not mind spending an inordinate amount of money at Starbucks. Thank you. iv CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ......................................................................... iii 1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................. 1 2. ARDEN OF FAVERSHAM AND THE SPANISH TRAGEDY .............. 39 3. CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE .............................................................. 69 4. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE .............................................................. 107 5. BEN JONSON .................................................................................... 139 REFERENCES ....................................................................................... 171 v CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION: SPACE, PLACE, AND IDENTITY In Kenneth Branagh’s 1995 film A Midwinter’s Tale, a down-on-his-luck actor decides to stage a production of Hamlet in a local cathedral at Christmastime. His ostentatious production designer, Fadge, uses the cathedral’s vaulted ceilings and long hallways in her design, finally revealing her vision to the company: “You see, we must make the design all about space. People in space. Things in space. Women in space. Men in space.” One of the perplexed actors responds, “So we’ll sort of be space men?” Fadge pauses before responding, “In a sense.” In a sense, we are all “space men,” “space women,” or “people in space” because we cannot separate our experiences from the areas in which they occur. To be more accurate, we are actually place men, place women, and people in place. As phenomenological theorists of space and place have established, space is an undifferentiated area, and our experiences inscribe a space and make it a place.1 In the Oxford English Dictionary, space “[d]enot[es] area or extension. General or unlimited extent” (II) and, more specifically, “Continuous, unbounded, or unlimited extent in every direction, without reference to any matter that may be present” (9). It is also, somewhat confusedly, defined as “An area or extent delimited or determined in some way” (11a), but the “some way” is vague and includes a sub-definition of “An empty place or part; a void; a gap” (11d). Although some definitions of space suggest specific boundaries, most are undefined or infinite. The first definition of place, in contrast, is geographical and concrete, “A 1 In the scientific understanding, space is as an infinite plane, an idea originating from Euclid’s geometrical concepts and supported by late seventeenth century scientists like Isaac Newton. 1 (public or residential) square” (I). The next definitions expand to additional physical manifestations of place and an individual’s effect on space: “Senses related to space or location” (II), including “Room, available space. Also: a space that can be occupied” (3a) and “The amount or quantity of space actually occupied by a person or thing; the position of a body in space, or in relation to other bodies; situation, location” (5a). Place is space that a person occupies and, most importantly, experiences. Everything we do is grounded and experienced in a specific place; no human experience on earth occurs in a vacuum. Theater is a place that “plays” (in all senses of the word) with place. Itself a place where people go to escape, to be entertained, to be enlightened, theater creates place onstage. As Lloyd Edward Kermode eloquently puts it, “If place is protean . ., its meaning and significance molded and remade by use, then theater is the quintessence of place” (5). For the early modern English audience, place is created via language; given limited scenery onstage, characters (and the actors who portray them) must create place.2 In Twelfth Night, the shipwrecked Viola asks, “What country, friends, is this?” The response, “This is Illyria, lady,” creates Illyria for the audience; suddenly the stage (itself a place since the actors’ experience make it one) becomes Illyria (1.2.1-2).3 As they experience more of Illyria, the characters create even more specific places, including the inn where Sebastian lodges or the house where Olivia lives. On the early modern stage, place is not limited to physical locations like a house or a city. Place also means social status or rank. According to the OED, the definition of place as social status dates from the 1380s: “Position or standing in an order of estimation or merit; spec. a 2 Tiffany Stern, Making Shakespeare: From Stage to Page and Alan C. Dessen, Elizabethan Stage Conventions provide helpful background on scenery in the early modern theater. Both note how certain props could also be used to establish the setting of a scene (nightgowns, beds, torches, etc.). Stern likewise suggests that other symbols were used to establish setting, including the colors of the furnishings/costumes and the music. I cannot know for sure what props were used to establish a place (I am limited to what remains on the page), but their work provides helpful context for understanding early modern theater practices. 3 Unless otherwise noted, quotations from Shakespeare come from The Riverside Shakespeare, 2nd ed., eds. G. Blakemore Evans and J.J.M. Tobin. 2 person's social rank or status; the duty or rights appropriate to a social rank. Formerly also: high rank or position (obs.)” (15a). A contemporary definition of place situates oneself in a physical place to signify social status: “A position or station occupied by custom, entitlement, or right; an allotted position; a space or position allocated to or reserved for a person; spec. a space at the dining table” (13a). The idea of knowing one’s place, in terms of social status, did not appear until approximately 1500: “to know (also keep) one’s place: to behave in a manner appropriate to one’s situation, social status, etc.” (15b). After citing one example from 1500 (and that a translation from a French work), the OED cites an example from Twelfth Night.4 Olivia’s servant Malvolio fantasizes about what will happen if he becomes his mistress’ husband and elevates his social status. He muses on how he will look down upon his new relations like Sir Toby Belch: “I know my place, as I would they should do theirs” (2.5.53-54, emphasis added).5 Before the sentence cited in the OED, Malvolio visualizes physical places that reflect