Performing Childhood In The Early Modern Theatre: The Children's Playing Companies (1599-1613) (early Modern Literature In History)

This book investigates how the Children of Paul's (1599-1606) and the Children of the Queen's Revels (1600-13) defined their players as children and, via an analysis of their plays and theatrical practices, it examines early modern theatre as a site in which children have the opportunity to articulate their emerging selfhoods. Eros And Poetry At The Court Of Mary Queen Of Scots And James Vi Examines The Erotics Of Literary Desire At The Stewart Court In Scotland During The Reigns Of Mary Queen Of Scots And James Vi. Encompassing The Period From The Early 1560s To The Late 1590s, This Is The First Study To Link Together Scottish Marian And Jacobean Court Literature, Presenting A Relatively Unknown Body Of Writing, Newly Theorized And Contextualized. It Argues That In This Period Erotic Poetry Can Only Be Considered In Relation To The Figure Of The Monarch, And That The Formation Of Elite Lyric Culture Takes Place Under The Shaping Influence Of Desire For, And Against, The Sovereign, And Her Or His 'passional' And Symbolic Powers.--jacket. Introduction: Amorous Histories -- From Marian To Jacobean Eros -- Pt. 1. The Marian Period. 1. Feminine Eros: Mary Queen Of Scots And The Emergence Of Desire. 2. Demonic And Angelic Women: The Erotics Of Renunciation And Mariology In The Bannatyne Manuscript -- Pt. 2. The Jacobean Period. 3. Fables Of Eros: James Vi And The Revelation Of Desire. 4. Devotional Artefacts: John Stewart And The Eroticisation Of The Courtly. 5. Love's Altar: Alexander Montgomerie And The Erotics Of Representation. 6. Heretical Love-words: The Poetry Of William Fowler. Conclusion: Love's End. Sarah M. Dunnigan. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. "A Roman triumph was the procession of a victorious general through the city. The festivity combined religious thanksgiving, political legitimation, and carnival release. Early modern England, from the Armada period of the 1580s to the Cromwellian Protectorate in the 1650s, revived and appropriated the Roman model in a wide variety of forms. The result is a characteristic product of early modern culture." "English use of the triumph included ceremonies, stage performances, and poetic or pictorial representations. This book gives particular attention to the researches of humanist antiquarians, the vigorous tradition of pamphlet triumphs, and the literary or dramatic versions produced by Spenser, Marlowe, Shakespeare, Marvell and Milton, as well as by non-canonical writers. It discloses the ways in which all these texts are implicated in contemporary political conflicts and discourses. The book also discusses adaptations such as the subversive triumph of love, the paradoxical triumph of peace, and Christian triumphs of humility and patience."--Jacket Performing Childhood in the Early Modern Theatre explores the phenomenon of the child player at the centre of early modern theatrical culture. Drawing together the fields of Renaissance, theatre and childhood studies, it raises crucial questions about the role of the child in this culture and about childhood was experienced and understood. It investigates how the two major children's playing companies, the Children of Paul's (1599-1606) and the Children of the Queen's Revels (1600-13), defined their players as children. Analyzing their plays, commercial and legal practices, and staging methods, it introduces theorizations of age and childhood into studies of performance, gender and nationality and investigates theatre as a site in which children have the opportunity to articulate their emerging selfhoods. It also offers new readings of plays by George Chapman, Nathan Field, Ben Jonson, John Marston and Thomas Middleton by locating them in the context of the children's repertories--Résumé de l'éditeur "The advent of relatively cheap printed editions of verse in the mid-sixteenth century produced an explosion of verse, much of which represented the first-person speaker as a version of the author. This book examines the way in which writers, often seeking advancement in their careers, harnessed the powers of verse and print for self-promotional purposes. Close attention to the self-constructions of these writers reveals conflicts and contradictions in available models of the self, as well as doubts about the powers of verse to express the inner self. Texts studied include: an extraordinary manuscript autobiography by Thomas Whythorne; printed verse by a woman, Isabella Whitney; an erotic romance by George Gascoigne, hailed as the first 'novel' in English; little-known but memorable narratives of travel to Russia and Africa, and of the experience of war; and more canonical works by Spenser, Sidney and Shakespeare."--Jacket Cover 1 Contents 8 Acknowledgements 9 Tables of the Children’s Playing Companies’ Repertories 11 Introduction: Defining Early Modern Childhoods 14 1 The Child as Trope: Performing Age and Gender on the Early Modern Children’s Stage 30 2 Evaluating Childhood: The Theatrical Trade in Children 56 3 Performing Court and Nation: The English Child Player 80 4 Playing Children: Education and Youth Culture in the Early Modern Theatre 105 5 Remembering Childhood: Nathan Field’s Theatrical Career 131 Notes 156 Bibliography 182 Index 195 A 195 B 195 C 195 D 198 E 198 F 198 G 199 H 199 I 199 J 199 K 200 L 200 M 200 N 201 O 201 P 201 Q 201 R 201 S 202 T 202 U 202 V 202 W 202 Y 202 Z 202 Eros and Poetry examines the erotics of literary desire at the Stewart court in Scotland during the reigns of Mary, Queen of Scots and James VI. Encompassing the period from the early 1560s to the late 1590s, this is the first study to link together Scottish Marian and Jacobean court literatures, presenting a relatively unknown body of writing, newly theorized and contextualized. It argues that in this period erotic poetry can only be considered in relation to the figure of the monarch, and that the formation of elite lyric culture takes place under the shaping influence of desire for, and against, the sovereign, and her or his 'passional' and symbolic powers Front Matter....Pages i-xii Introduction: Defining Early Modern Childhoods....Pages 1-16 The Child as Trope: Performing Age and Gender on the Early Modern Children’s Stage....Pages 17-42 Evaluating Childhood: The Theatrical Trade in Children....Pages 43-66 Performing Court and Nation: The English Child Player....Pages 67-91 Playing Children: Education and Youth Culture in the Early Modern Theatre....Pages 92-117 Remembering Childhood: Nathan Field’s Theatrical Career....Pages 118-142 Back Matter....Pages 143-189