The Making of the National Poet by Michael Dobson

The Making of the National Poet by Michael Dobson

The century between the Restoration and David Garrick's Stratford Jubilee saw William Shakespeare's promotion from the status of archaic, rustic playwright to that of England's timeless Bard, and with it the complete transformation of the ways in which his plays were staged, published, and read. But why Shakespeare? and what different interests did this process serve? The Making of the National Poet is the first full-length study since the 1920s of the Restoration's and eighteenth century's revisions and revaluations of Shakespeare, and the first to consider the period's much-reviled stage adaptations in the context of the profound cultural changes in which they participate. Drawing on a wide range of evidence--including engravings, promptbooks, diaries, statuary, and previously unpublished poems, it examines how and why Shakespeare was retrospectively claimed as both a respectable Enlightenment author and a crucial and contested symbol of British national identity. Through engaging and informative analysis, Dobson's book provides the definitive account of the theater's role in establishing Shakespeare as Britain's National Poet.

perceptive study.. this is an accessible, lucidly persuasive and enjoyable work ... It makes an important contribution to the study of the Shakespeare phenomenon, but has no sense of bitterness or parti pris, and it offers a fresh and necessary realignment of thinking about the stage adaptations of the plays between the 1660s and the 1760s. * Theatre Research International *
rich in insight ... clever, lucid and scrupulously researched * London Review of Books *
Dobson ... is one of the band of recent critics who have viewed the history of Shakespeare's reputation as a political matter. He proves himself to be certainly the wittiest and possibly the most learned and judicious of these critics. He has a marvellous way of unearthing some forgotten adaptation . . . he has a strong grasp of the intricacies of eighteenth-century politics. * Times Literary Supplement *

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780198183235
ISBN 10	0198183232
Title	The Making of the National Poet
Author	Michael Dobson
Series	Clarendon Paperbacks
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Oxford University Press
Year published	1994-11-17
Number of pages	276
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.