Reading Texts (12)

William Shakespeare: Romances by Everyman’s Library

THIS IS A BORZOI BOOK PUBLISHED BY ALFRED A. KNOPF

These plays are published by arrangement with New American Library, a division of Penguin Books, USA Inc.

Pericles: Copyright © 1965 by Ernest Schanzer

Copyright © 1963, 1988 by Sylvan Barnet

Pages 1-112

Edited by Ernest Schanzer

Cymbeline: Copyright © 1968 by Richard Hosley

Copyright © 1963, 1988 by Sylvan Barnet

Pages 113-256

Edited by Richard Hosley

I read both plays in immediate succession and found them both to be incredibly poignant and resonating reads. The theme of transcendence in the late plays (or Romances, as labelled by the copy which held both) which I’ve heard discussed is definitely alive in both of these plays: where there would assumedly be tragedy (especially in the case of Cymbeline, whose progressively thickening plot almost makes your stomach churn in anticipation for the climax) there is instead a transcendence beyond this, to a peaceful closure. Arguably, both plays are resolved with a happily ever after, which is a stark contrast to TTNK’s cathartic, miserable ending. Both plays also feature the dead being resurrected: Thaisa is brought back to life on Ephesus, and Imogen is saved by Cornelius’ tampering with the Queen’s poisonous vial when ill. Both feature female protagonists dedicated to Diana and their chastity: Thaisa becomes a priestess of Diana once she awakes while her daughter, Marina, converts the men who visit her at the brothel to the path of purity; Imogen is willing to die once she receives the letter from Posthumus declaring that she had cuckolded him, even though this was part of Iachimo’s scheming. TTNK’s Emilia is similar in this regard.

Pericles seems unlike any other Shakespeare I’ve read (but does deal with the same themes of chivalry and morality that TTNK does) and although I haven’t read it yet, reminds me of The Tempest with its focus on the maritime. Its usage of Gower and the frequencies of the Dumb Shows are unlike any other Shakespeare I’ve encountered, bar the play-within-a-play elements of Hamlet; it is used for transitions and often inspires both mirth and pathos. The meeting of Marina and Pericles is massively pathos-inducing and has echoes of Lear and Cordelia’s reunion in regards to its massive emotional weight; when the Jailer’s friends recover his Daughter there is a similar but paler echo of this. The processions involving the Knights invokes a similar atmosphere to TTNK’s, and Pericles’ friendship with Helicanus echoes that of Theseus and Pirithous’. 

Cymbeline is a fantastic play. The delicate and often-spurned relationship between Posthumus Leonatus and Imogen is reminiscent of Othello and Desdemona – both are set towards downfall by scheming Italians whose names begin with ‘Ia’, both are wedded against the permission of their fathers, both rely on misplaced tokens to herald the infidelity (although Iachimo supplies far more damning evidence, by relaying a view of the chamber and the mole upon Imogen’s left breast) – but Imogen survives her husband’s wrath thanks to the help of Pisanio, as she and her husband have a reconciliation at the end of the play. The theme of reconciliation is in fact one of the most prominent in this play, as in the end there is the reconciliation between the couple, between Cymbeline, Belarius and his two stolen sons, between Cymbeline and Imogen, between Imogen and Pisanio (as she thought he had killed Posthumus when she wakes in hers and the headless Cloten’s grave), between Iachimo’s guilt and Posthumus’ nobility to not kill him, and between Rome and Britain. The reconciliations demonstrate it as the play whose characters communicate instead of waging war, and they are happier for it. Cymbeline seems to bookend the tragedies– chiefly Othelloand King Lear – where the lack of communication serves to be but one cause of their peripeteias. It seems interesting then to compare this happier reconciliation with the heart-wrenching one between Palamon and Arcite when the latter is dying. However, it has to be noted that Shakespeare and Fletcher were following the unhappy ending already laid out by Chaucer in The Knight’s Tale.

As late plays, they are most likely to be what I’ll compare TTNK to, if I regain any sense of what the essay will be about.

Reading Texts (11)

Two Fictitious Ethical Types

Walter Libby

International Journal of Ethics, Vol. 18, No.4 (Jul., 1908)

pp.466-475

Published by: The University of Chicago Press

The essay provides a standpoint I’d never considered: that Theseus is an “evolved” Hamlet in regards to character study. Furthermore, Libby relates TTNK to a variety of Shakespeare plays, both earlier in the canon and later (including The Tempest and Pericles, which I would like to read) as well as relating Theseus’ positions to those of Nietzsche. It’s an interesting read, and perhaps with greater thought will prove to be more useful than it looks at this moment.

Reading Texts (10)

The Suitors in the Parlement of Foules Again

Oliver Farrar Emerson

Modern Language Notes, Vol. 26, No.4 (April, 1911)

pp.109-111

Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press

Unfortunately, it is almost entirely unrelated to my essay – only the tenuous links to Chaucer would sustain it, but the quibbles discussed don’t even concern the correct Chaucer poem. At least it was brief enough to be easily skimmed, so its irrelevance was easily discerned.

Palæmon and Arcyte, Progne, Marcus Germinus, and the Theatre in Which They Were Acted, as Described by John Bereblock (1566)

W. Y. Durand

PMLA, Vol.20, No.3 (1905)

pp.502-528

Published by: Modern Language Association

Another interesting read: Durand provides the translations for the summaries of the three plays shown at Oxford in 1566 to an audience that included Queen Elizabeth I. While the play itself is lost, the three summaries (by three different authors) demonstrates how this play would have lodged in the conscious of even those who didn’t attend: three people died in accident, yet the play ‘Palæmon and Arcyte’ was still shown.

Reading Texts (9)

Review

Reviewed Work: History of English Literature, Vol. II, Part I by Bernhard Ten Brink and Wm. Clark Robinson

Review by: Oliver Farrar Emerson

The School Review, Vol1, No.5 (May, 1893) 

pp.311-313

Published by: The University of Chicago Press

I can only wish I were reading the discussions of Ten Brink on The Knight’s Tale, rather than Emerson’s summation of them. It is a somewhat useful direction to take, but I worry that it doesn’t relate closely enough to The Two Noble Kinsmen for me to investigate it.

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.