Reading Texts (8)

William Shakespeare: Tragedies Vol.1 by Everyman’s Library

THIS IS A BORZOI BOOK PUBLISHED BY ALFRED A. KNOPF

King Lear Copyright © 1963 by Russell Fraser

Introduction Copyright © 1992 by Tony Tanner

Published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House Inc. New York, and Canada Limited, Toronto. 

Distributed by Random House Inc., New York.

I decided to read King Lear in the hopes that it would broaden my understanding of the Shakespeare canon, and that I would be able to relate the tragic elements of the two plays together. Unfortunately, while King Lear proves itself to be an engaging and thought-provoking read (and gives itself credence to Shepard’s thoughts; TTNK is not to the same standard as King Lear or Hamlet.) it is not as immediately relevant as I had hoped. While both shares themes of warfare, madness, chivalry and brotherly betrayal (the actions of Edmund conspiring against his half-brother Edgar a shallow echo of the romantic betrayal of Arcite to Palamon), there is not as solid a foundation as I could have hoped. For instance, I hoped to relate the relationships between fathers and daughters (and madness, to an extent) through Lear and Cordelia to the Jailer and his Daughter, but the scenes of Lear and Cordelia are briefer than I hoped. Hopefully with greater thought I will be able to relate them beyond these brief instances.

Reading Texts (7)

The Evolution of Shakespeare’s Heroine

Henry David Gray

The Journal of English and Germanic Philology, Vol. 12, No.1 (January, 1913)

pp.122-137

Published by: University of Illinois Press

An incredibly interesting essay regarding both the chronology of the Shakespeare canon and how Shakespeare’s heroines have evolved in both the comedies, tragedies, and romances. TTNK is not mentioned, but I would like to consider its heroines in regards to the hypotheses Gray sets out; if TTNK is the last play to have been written by Shakespeare, then its female heroines should surpass Miranda in their qualities. Unless, of course, we consider the play in the same way Gray considered Timon of Athens and Trolius and Cressida.

Suicide in the Plays of Shake-Speare

James Holly Hanford

PMLA, Vol. 27, No.3 (1912)

pp.380-397

Published by: Modern Language Association

An incredibly interesting essay, but not one that relates in its entirety to TTNK. The self-destructive cries of the Jailer’s Daughter (though not acted upon) can be seen to be reminiscent of the comments regarding Ophelia, and pity for her tragedy.

Reading Texts (6)

Recent Shakespeare Criticism

Pierce Butler

The Sewanee Review, Vol. 18 No.4 (Oct., 1910)

pp. 490-502

Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press

Butler provides both praise and criticism for recent (in the period of 1910) critical volumes relating to Shakespeare. His opinion is manifested clearly and engagingly, as he gives a summary of the works (and notes anything important about certain passages) before putting his own perspective on the pieces. Unfortunately, it was not much beyond interesting. There was a useful section on page 493 where Butler notes Dr. Albright’s observations that the Globe likely had an ‘inner’ and ‘outer’ stage, as well as a ‘balcony’ that sat above it – this would be interesting to compare to the staging of TTNK in its illustrations provided by Waith’s Introduction. However, it does not give me any direct information on TTNK.

The Authorship of Henry the Eight

Marjorie H Nicholson

PMLA Vol. 37, No.3 (Sept. 1922)

pp.484-502

Published by: Modern Language Association

Nicholson’s detailed investigation into how Henry VIII was constructed and how its authorship was portioned (she makes the note that it would not have been a collaboration due to the inconsistencies ripe throughout the play, and suggests that an early draft was passed to Fletcher to finish) and her presentation of the facts offers something which is incredibly useful to compare to TTNK. This is because both plays have been derided by Boyle as the work of Massinger, both plays were written around the same time period, both plays concern the work of both Shakespeare and Fletcher, and both plays are frequently regarded as ‘inferior’ when compared to Shakespeare’s earlier works. It also contains the beginnings of accepting Shakespeare’s collaborative nature, although Nicholson makes certain to state that no collaborations had been recorded during this period. 

The Influence of Theatrical Conditions on Shakespeare

Edward Everett Hale Jr.

Modern Philology, Vol. 1, No.1 (June, 1903)

pp.171-192

The University of Chicago Press

A fascinating and deeply engaging essay which discusses at length the difference between modern stage production and the Elizabethan productions. Unfortunately, while it was deeply engrossing, I don’t know how relevant it will be to my own essay. I suppose I should note that a version of The Two Noble Kinsmen performed by a New Zealand University (whose name escapes me right now) that I watched on YouTube after my initial online reading of the text sometime early in the summer was staged in a remarkably similar way that Everett Hale Jr. describes the Elizabethans as to have doing. Palamon and Arcite were likely to have been imprisoned on the balcony, watching Emilia on the lower stage below. 

Reading Texts (5)

Shakespeare and ‘The Two Noble Kisnmen’

Henry E. Shepard

Modern Language Notes, Vol.4 No.7 (November 1889) pp.213-214

Published by: The Johns Hopkins University press

An unfortunately brief but incredibly insightful perspective on what one of the opposing critics to TTNK’s authorship. He notes the similarity between the Jailer’s Daughter and Ophelia and Desdemona, something which I want to elaborate further on (within my means to, as we’re studying both these texts in English Lit and I’m aware that I can’t rely too heavily on them in the EPQ). Furthermore, he encapsulates an opinion which I’ve gathered (especially from Waith’s Introduction to my copy of the text) was quite common for critics to hold, that The Two Noble Kinsmen was too poor an example of Shakespeare’s works and that he had never “descended” below the excellence of the originals. I would like to research the editor, Rofle, for his interesting comment of the authorship being “Insoluble” – he may have an essay which would provide an interesting piece of evidence to consider.

The Chief Problem in Shakespeare

John S. P. Tatlock

The Sewanee Review, Vol.24, No.2 (April 1916) 

pp.129-147

Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press

This was another text I read to ascertain an overall view of Shakespeare, rather than in relation to TTNK specifically. Tatlock discusses the nature of Trolius and Cressida and his interpretations of criticisms associated with the play, which overall paint it (as well as Timon of Athens, All’s Well That Ends Well, and Measure) as a play that is not highly regarded in critical circles. As another play finding its origins with Chaucer, this analysis has proven incredibly useful, although not entirely easy to reference within my own essay, I imagine. It has certainly raised a point of interest which, had I more time and resources, would like to explore with TTNK: were there plays written around the time that Shakespeare and Fletcher would have drawn inspiration? Again, Waith’s Introduction notes that there were two plays, lost to time, who followed The Knight’s Tale. 

Some Notes on Shakespeare

Robert Kilburn Root

The Journal of Germanic Philology, Vol. 4, N.4 (1902)

pp.452-459

Published by: University of Illnois Press

Robert Kilburn Root provides some notes on his unravelling on some of the obscure phrasings used in various Shakespeare plays. While delightfully interesting, it doesn’t offer me any direct help (that I can perceive in this moment) with predicament regarding TTNK. 

Anachronism in Shakespeare Criticism

Elmer Edgar Stoll

Modern Philology, Vol. 7, No.4, (April 1910)

pp.557-575

Published by: The University of Chicago Press

Stoll’s charged essay is, from my perspective at this moment, irrelevant to my essay. He lauds on the faults of criticism with little reference to the plays themselves in a useful manner. Therefore, while an engaging read, is not one I can use.

Reading Texts (4)

The ‘White Hand’ of Shakespeare’s Heroines

Morris P. Tilley

The Sewanee Review, Vol. 19, No.2, (April, 1911) 

pp.207-212

Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press

I read this with the hope that it would provide an overall understanding (as I’m still clinging to the idea of exploring exactly what a ‘conventional’ Shakespeare play is) into the nature of his heroines and it does so, but not with as great a depth as I’ve hoped. I have noticed the praise towards “white hands” being discussed in the essay being applied to TTNK’s Emilia, so I suppose that does give the play some conventionality. 

Review: Marta Straznicky Shakespeare’s Stationers: Studies in Cultural Bibliography

Reviewed Work: Shakespeare’s Stationers: Studies in Cultural Bibliography by Straznicky

Review by: Lukas Erne

Modern Philology, Vol. 112, No.2 (November 2014) pp.E175-E178

Published by: The University of Chicago Press

An interesting review on a text I would be interested in reading, particularly regarding the brief passage relating to TTNK, which “essentially drove his bookshop into the ground” on its only publication by John Waterson. This builds on the mosaic (including reading prior to this blog post) of TTNK having an almost cursed property about it, and seeming to inspire derision from all fronts. Spalding’s comments of the play being “no more than a sketch, when would be see to great disadvantage beside finished drawings of the same master” is brought to mind.

Shakespeare’s Gentle Heroine

Bertha Vanderlyn

Dine Arts Journal, Vol. 14, No.3 (March, 1903)

pp.91-94

Published by: 

December 17^th

While it is a very moving opinion piece, it centres in its entirety on Ophelia, and its references to plays beyond Hamlet are scant and unhelpful. While it would certainly be worth a speed-read in aid of my Literature A-Level, it is unhelpful for the EPQ.

Colloquial Contractions in Beaumont, Fletcher, Massinger, and Shakespeare as a Test of Authorship

Willard Edward Farnham

PMLA VOl.31, No.2 (1916) 

pp.362-358

Published by: Modern Language Association

This was incredibly helpful as it gives me a vivid example of the investigations towards authorships. It discusses the authorship of The Two Noble Kinsmen (as well as Henry VIII) at great length with a well-founded evidence. Farnham’s essay adds to the slowly-growing timeline (with Spalding’s bringing together of the earlier thoughts in 1834) of critical thought regarding TTNK’s authorship.

Palamon and Arcite

John S. P. Tatlock

Modern Language Notes, Vol.23 No-4 (April 1908)

p.128

Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press

This wasn’t as helpful as I’d hoped, as it’s only a page long so can’t go into a great measure of depth. Furthermore, the text is merely an exchange between three critics quibbling Chaucer’s Palamon and Arcite, rather than Shakespeare’s and Fletcher’s.

Palamon and Arcite

George Hempl

Modern Language Notes, Vol. 23, No.4 (April 1908)

pp.127-128

Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press

Much like the entry before it, it wasn’t as helpful as it could have been, being that it is the same piece ascribed to a different critic who contributes. Disappointing.

The Lady in the Garden

Walter Morris Hart

Modern Language Notes, Vol. 22, No.8 (December 1907)

pp.241-242

Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press

Unfortunately, I do not read Italian or French and do not have any aid to translate the verse Hart sets out. Again, it deals with Chaucer rather than Fletcher and Shakespeare. While these would have provided to be inspirations to the dramatists, the do not immediately help my essay (which I’m beginning to become quite concerned about as to how to construct my arguments).

Reading Texts (3)

The Source of Chaucer’s Anelida and Arcite

Edgar F. Shannon

PMLA, Vol.27, No.4 (1912)

pp.461-685

Published by: Modern Language Association

While it is undoubtedly a fascinating essay, the topic is not as helpful as I had hoped. The essay centres around an unfinished Chaucer poem which is set in “the court of Theseus” but I don’t believe it concerns the one discussed in The Knight’s Tale, so is therefore not helpful in my research of TTNK. This in itself is a shame; Shannon writes with an engaging conviction and is very quotable, but it simply doesn’t lend.

Did Boccaccio Suggest the Character of Chaucer’s Knight?

Frank E; Bryant

Modern Language Notes, Vol. 17, No.8 (December 1902) 

pp.235-236

Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press

A fascinating and brief linking of Boccaccio’s Teseide and The Knight’s Tale of Chaucer’s creation, but not one which is relevant to my essay, as it does not concern TTNK closely enough.

The Trolius-Cressida Story from Chaucer to Shakespeare

Hyder E. Rollins

PMLA, Vol. 32, No.3 (1917) 

pp.385-429

Published by: Modern Language Association

An interesting read in regards of a controversial Shakespeare play (of which TTNK couldn’t dream of possessing such infamy) but not one which is particularly helpful for my essay, as any reference to this would be particularly strained and forced.

Chaucer’s “Opie of Thebes Fyn”

Oliver Farrar Emerson

Modern Philology, Vol. 17, No.5 (September 1919) 

pp.287-291

Published by: The University of Chicago Press

While a very fascinating read into Chaucer’s possible medicinal knowledge regarding opium, it is almost entirely irrelevant to the essay at hand. Furthermore, there are several quoted sections which remain untranslated, which does not anoint them as entirely helpful. While he references quotes from both Boccaccio’s Teseide and Chaucer’s The Knight’s Tale, there is (rightfully, as it would be considered irrelevant in that context) no reference to the play. It is interesting to note that (from my memory of the play) there isn’t any reference to sleeping potions being used to bypass the Jailer; the Jailer’s Daughter is the one who helps Palamon escape.

Reading Texts (2)

From the ‘Shakespeare Documented’ Website:

Contributed by the Folger Shakespeare Library, the First Edition page from 1634

Contributed by the Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers, the stationer entry denoting TTNK as a work by ‘John ffletcher and William Shakespeare’.

Written by Peter Kirwan, Collaborations and (mis)attributions.

The latter piece in particular provides the interesting topic of the ‘Shakespeare Apocrypha’ which would be intensely relevant due to TTNK’s dubious nature. Once I’ve returned and if I have enough time, I’d like to investigate this vein as a legitimate aspect of the essay.

Reading Texts (1)

Gerad NeCasto – Chaucer’s ‘The Knight’s Tale’ 

KTBRief – ‘The Knight’s Tale’ Abbreviated and re-spelled by Brother Antony

(No other details given)

I began reading these two versions of ‘The Knight’s Tale’ side-by-side as the beginnings of understanding the historical context to the play. Because of my current lack of information on the origins of both of these texts (other than the nebulous ‘internet’) I’m a little wary of their credibility; thusly, their usefulness to me is thrown into question. I do not currently have my copy (which is a modern translation) so will hopefully refer to that if I would need to make reference to the text within the essay.

Shakespeare’s Later Workmanship “The Winter’s Tale”

Arthur Quiller-Couch

The North American Review, Vol.203, No.726 (May, 1916)

pp.749-760

Published by: University of Northern Iowa

An excellent essay concerning one of Shakespeare’s late plays, and one that I unfortunately haven’t read; after reading this, I would quite like to. Quiller-Couch writes engagingly and gives ample examples and interpretations of both the text and the criticisms that sit around it, as well as relating it to its sibling texts. It isn’t immediately relevant to TTNK, but may hopefully prove as a firm reference in regards to comparing the plays.

Shakespeare’s Later Workmanship “Pericles” and “King Henry VIII”

Arthur Quiller-Couch

The North American Review, Vol.203, No.725 (April 1916)

pp.601-612

Published by: University of Northern Iowa

Another fascinating essay by Quiller-Couch that concerns two more of the late plays; he asserts throughout that both weren’t the full works of Shakespeare. This may prove interesting later (and more helpful if I read the plays) as TTNK has itself had conflicts over its authorship; it can be argued that they could have their own individual styles because of these collaborations. I’d like to look further into this once I have the time.

Reading Texts Series

This serves to chart my research for my essay when I’m either too busy to blog (as with the mock exams before Christmas) or away from the internet, as I will be for 26 nights on an extended holiday, roughly around two weeks of which will be transatlantic. Therefore, this should give me ample time to either compose my essay (although I’m doubtful of this, as any attempts I’ve made at structuring it have been fleetly failing and vague) or read enough texts that I would feel more comfortable in such. I’ve preloaded a series of .PDFs onto a USB stick which I’ll use on my netbook to read and then briefly comment on for the benefit of both the EPQ and the blog. Hopefully, in around a month’s time, I’ll be more certain on the terms that my essay can be composed of. 

The comments made during the period have been divided up by date and added to to the blog once I have the internet for it, and are labelled as 'Reading Texts (#)' to identify them.