Research Catalog

Title

Shakespeare and the idea of Apocrypha : negotiating the boundaries of the dramatic canon / Peter Kirwan.

Author

Kirwan, Peter

Publication

Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2015.

Supplementary Content

Cover image

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xii, 258 pages; 24 cm

Summary

• "In addition to the thirty-six plays of the First Folio, some eighty plays have been attributed in whole or part to William Shakespeare, yet most are rarely read, performed or discussed. This book, the first to confront the implications of the 'Shakespeare Apocrypha', asks how and why these plays have historically been excluded from the canon. Innovatively combining approaches from book history, theatre history, attribution studies and canon theory, Peter Kirwan unveils the historical assumptions and principles that shaped the construction of the Shakespeare canon. Case studies treat plays such as Sir Thomas More, Edward III, Arden of Faversham, Mucedorus, Double Falsehood and A Yorkshire Tragedy, showing how the plays' contested 'Shakespearean' status has shaped their fortunes. Kirwan's book rethinks the impact of authorial canons on the treatment of anonymous and disputed plays"--
• "The Idea of Apocrypha All held Apocrypha, not worth survey. Falsehoods On 2 April 1796, London's Drury Lane Theatre presented a recently unearthed play by William Shakespeare. Vortigern and Rowena, 'discovered' by William Henry Ireland, played to a derisive crowd, whose disbelief in the play's authenticity was shared by the theatre's manager, John Philip Kemble. Kemble, in the lead role, pointedly repeated the line 'and when this solemn mock'ry is ended', inviting ridicule from the crowd. The production was not revived, and the whole incident contributed to the unravelling of Ireland's claims. The authenticity of the play - along with the other purportedly Shakespearean documents unearthed by Ireland and his father Samuel - had been attacked only a fortnight earlier by the leading Shakespearean editor of the day, Edmond Malone, in An Inquiry into the Authenticity of Certain Miscellaneous Papers and Legal Instruments. Malone's statement of intent makes clear his chosen role as a defender of Shakespeare: It has been said, and I believe truly, that every individual of this country, whose mind has been at all cultivated, feels a pride in being able to boast of our great dramatick poet, Shakspeare, as his countryman:"--

Subject

• Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 > Authorship
• Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616
• Authorship
• Drama
• Autorschaft

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents

Introduction: the idea of Apocrypha -- Canonising the Apocrypha -- The Apocrypha in rep -- Defining 'Shakespeare' -- Apocryphising the canon -- Epilogue: an apocryphal identity -- Appendix -- Works cited -- Index.

Call Number

JFE 15-3768

ISBN

• 9781107096172
• 1107096170

LCCN

2015008272

OCLC

898162915

Author

Kirwan, Peter, author.

Title

Shakespeare and the idea of Apocrypha : negotiating the boundaries of the dramatic canon / Peter Kirwan.

Publisher

Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2015.

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Connect to:

Cover image

Research Call Number

JFE 15-3768