Shakespeare's Festive Comedy

A Study of Dramatic Form and Its Relation to Social Custom

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, Drama History & Criticism, British
Cover of the book Shakespeare's Festive Comedy by Cesar Lombardi Barber, Princeton University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Cesar Lombardi Barber ISBN: 9781400839858
Publisher: Princeton University Press Publication: October 3, 2011
Imprint: Princeton University Press Language: English
Author: Cesar Lombardi Barber
ISBN: 9781400839858
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication: October 3, 2011
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Language: English

In this classic work, acclaimed Shakespeare critic C. L. Barber argues that Elizabethan seasonal festivals such as May Day and Twelfth Night are the key to understanding Shakespeare's comedies. Brilliantly interweaving anthropology, social history, and literary criticism, Barber traces the inward journey--psychological, bodily, spiritual--of the comedies: from confusion, raucous laughter, aching desire, and aggression, to harmony. Revealing the interplay between social custom and dramatic form, the book shows how the Elizabethan antithesis between everyday and holiday comes to life in the comedies' combination of seriousness and levity.

"I have been led into an exploration of the way the social form of Elizabethan holidays contributed to the dramatic form of festive comedy. To relate this drama to holiday has proved to be the most effective way to describe its character. And this historical interplay between social and artistic form has an interest of its own: we can see here, with more clarity of outline and detail than is usually possible, how art develops underlying configurations in the social life of a culture."--C. L. Barber, in the Introduction

This new edition includes a foreword by Stephen Greenblatt, who discusses Barber's influence on later scholars and the recent critical disagreements that Barber has inspired, showing that Shakespeare's Festive Comedy is as vital today as when it was originally published.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In this classic work, acclaimed Shakespeare critic C. L. Barber argues that Elizabethan seasonal festivals such as May Day and Twelfth Night are the key to understanding Shakespeare's comedies. Brilliantly interweaving anthropology, social history, and literary criticism, Barber traces the inward journey--psychological, bodily, spiritual--of the comedies: from confusion, raucous laughter, aching desire, and aggression, to harmony. Revealing the interplay between social custom and dramatic form, the book shows how the Elizabethan antithesis between everyday and holiday comes to life in the comedies' combination of seriousness and levity.

"I have been led into an exploration of the way the social form of Elizabethan holidays contributed to the dramatic form of festive comedy. To relate this drama to holiday has proved to be the most effective way to describe its character. And this historical interplay between social and artistic form has an interest of its own: we can see here, with more clarity of outline and detail than is usually possible, how art develops underlying configurations in the social life of a culture."--C. L. Barber, in the Introduction

This new edition includes a foreword by Stephen Greenblatt, who discusses Barber's influence on later scholars and the recent critical disagreements that Barber has inspired, showing that Shakespeare's Festive Comedy is as vital today as when it was originally published.

More books from Princeton University Press

Cover of the book Amazing Arachnids by Cesar Lombardi Barber
Cover of the book Designing San Francisco by Cesar Lombardi Barber
Cover of the book Communities of Violence by Cesar Lombardi Barber
Cover of the book Happiness for All? by Cesar Lombardi Barber
Cover of the book Single Digits by Cesar Lombardi Barber
Cover of the book Emblems of Pluralism by Cesar Lombardi Barber
Cover of the book Reluctant Accomplice by Cesar Lombardi Barber
Cover of the book The Enneads of Plotinus, Volume 1 by Cesar Lombardi Barber
Cover of the book Siegfried Kracauer by Cesar Lombardi Barber
Cover of the book From Communists to Foreign Capitalists by Cesar Lombardi Barber
Cover of the book Kierkegaard's Writings, I, Volume 1 by Cesar Lombardi Barber
Cover of the book Google's PageRank and Beyond by Cesar Lombardi Barber
Cover of the book Fear and Trembling and The Sickness Unto Death by Cesar Lombardi Barber
Cover of the book Structural Biomaterials by Cesar Lombardi Barber
Cover of the book Normal Accidents by Cesar Lombardi Barber
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy