corso di cultura 2010-2011. drama and theatre shakespeares drama and theatre playhouses actors...
TRANSCRIPT
Corso di Cultura 2010-2011
DRAMA and Theatre
SHAKESPEARE’s
DRAMA and Theatre
•Playhouses
•Actors
•Companies
•Playhouses
•Actors
•Companies
•Authoirship
•Texts
•Various editions
Shakespeare’s playhouses, actors and companies
Playhouses and players
–Performances were forbidden without authorization – The patronage of a
lord was the safest protection–Companies came to
be distinguished by the name of the patron
1572 “Act for the punishment of Vagabonds”
1594-1603Lord Chamberlain’s Men1594: riapertura dei teatri dopo la peste
Chamberlain’s Men, guidati da Richard Burbage, figlio dell’impresario teatrale James Burbage. Qui Shakespeare inizia la sua attività come full sharer (socio a quota intera dell’impresa teatrale).Il successo della compagnia (in un momento di forte rivalità tra varie compagnie) è dovuto essenzialmente a lui, capace di fornire in poco tempo un gran numero di copioni di successo (commedie, tragedie e drammi storici)
Shakespeare’s companies
Written texts were strongly affected by
the theatrical conditions of the
performance
Ex. Some characters were inspired by
the specific qualities of actors
in 1597 William Kempe (clown) was
replaced by Robert Armin (who inspired
the role of the fool)
Philip Henslowe The Admiral’ s Men
Richard Burbage (the leading tragic actor)(son of James Burbage, who had built the Theatre)
Will Kempe (the leading comic actor)Will Kempe (the leading comic actor)
William ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare
The Lord Chamberlain’s MenThe Lord Chamberlain’s Men
1603 Queen Elizabeth I died
1603-1608
King’s Men: stagione delle grandi tragedie: Othello, King Lear, Macbeth, Antony and Cleopatra. 1608: nuova epidemia di peste, chiusura dei teatri pubblici. La compagnia dei King’s Men inizia ad usare sempre più frequentemente la sale dei Blackfriars
Evolution of playhouses
Elizabethan playhouses
• 1576 The Theatre (James Burbage)– The headquarters of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men
1594-1597 who then moved to the Globe
• 1577 The Curtain• 1587 The Rose (Philip Henslowe)
– The headquarters of the Admiral’s Men who then moved to the Fortune
• 1595 The Swan• 1600 the Globe• 1600 Fortune• 1608 The Blackfriars
1608- 1612 Blackfriars
Sala: ex-refettorio di un convento domenicano. Sala rettangolare 20 metri per 14.
Forma del teatro: non più circolare (la O di cui parla Amleto)Pubblico: molto meno numeroso (le dimensioni della sala erano ben lontane dalle possibilità di capienza del Globe: 3.000 spettatori) Indoor: consentiva di avvalersi di illuminazione artificiale (fiaccole), lo spettacolo iniziava anche intorno alle 3 o 4 del pomeriggio, mentre gli spettacoli all’aperto non iniziavano mai dopo le 2. Si cominciano a studiare effetti scenici particolari: collaborazione di Inigo Jones.
SHAKESPEARE’s
DRAMA and Theatre
•Playhouses
•Actors
•Companies
•Authorship
•Texts
•Various editions
•Authorship
•Texts
•Various editions
William Shakespeare
-1564: Baptized on April 26 (born on April 23)-1582: (november) he married Anne Hataway-1584: (May): his daughter Susanna was born.- 1585: The twins Hamnet and Judith were born-(1585-1592):LOST YEARS-1592: he was in London
-1616: he died (on April 23)
1592-1600
1601-1608
1608-1612
Comedies
The tragic phase
The romances
Authorship
• The romantic image of the artist as an individual genius
• The romantic image of the artist as an individual genius
•A broader, culturally based notion of authorship•reciprocity between cultural field and literary work: (cultural and social practices are seen as contributing to the creation of a literary work)
•A broader, culturally based notion of authorship•reciprocity between cultural field and literary work: (cultural and social practices are seen as contributing to the creation of a literary work)
vsvs
Theater is the most socially embedded of all artsTheater is the most socially embedded of all arts
Shakespeare’s plays are the products of a complex process of creation, realization and transmission
Shakespeare’s plays are the products of a complex process of creation, realization and transmission
Steven Greenblatt, Shakespearean Negotiations, OUP 1988
Steven Greenblatt, Shakespearean Negotiations, OUP 1988
“The literary production of a writer such as Shakespeare is conditioned and determined by historical and social forces that vastly complicate simple notions of authorship and artistic responsibility”
“The literary production of a writer such as Shakespeare is conditioned and determined by historical and social forces that vastly complicate simple notions of authorship and artistic responsibility”
textualitytextuality
deeply related notionsdeeply related notions
AutorshipAutorship
Textual instabilityTextual instability
No manuscripts of Shakespeare’s plays have survivedTextual scholars seek to establish as precisely as possible the exact words that Shakespeare wrote
– Of all forms of writing, drama is the one in which the author’s identity is more difficult to establish: it was a collaborative art
– The route from playwright to printer was long and complex
No manuscripts of Shakespeare’s plays have survivedTextual scholars seek to establish as precisely as possible the exact words that Shakespeare wrote
– Of all forms of writing, drama is the one in which the author’s identity is more difficult to establish: it was a collaborative art
– The route from playwright to printer was long and complex
From playwright to printerThe dramatist produced the manuscript: the foul papersAn early version of the play, containing marginal and interlinear additions…The dramatist produced the manuscript: the foul papersAn early version of the play, containing marginal and interlinear additions…
A professional scribe produced a transcipt for theatrical uses known as fair copy The copyist’s own linguisitc and orthographic features might intrude (i.e. the use of punctuation)
A professional scribe produced a transcipt for theatrical uses known as fair copy The copyist’s own linguisitc and orthographic features might intrude (i.e. the use of punctuation)
A member of the company marked up the fair copy, specifying theatrical business that the author might have left unclear, and attending to textual details. He thus produced the book of the play, an adjusted version of the fair copy that belonged to the company: it was the master copy used for the stage production
A member of the company marked up the fair copy, specifying theatrical business that the author might have left unclear, and attending to textual details. He thus produced the book of the play, an adjusted version of the fair copy that belonged to the company: it was the master copy used for the stage production
Various mistakes were possible
• The playwright wrote the manuscript
• The scribes who copied out the parts for the
actors often misunderstood the author’s
penmanship and introduced errors
• Actors often misremembered or altered lines
Any of these potentially faulty documents might have served as copy text for the printer
Any of these potentially faulty documents might have served as copy text for the printer
In folio
The printer folded the sheet once, making two leaves or four pages front and back
In quarto
The printer folded the sheet twice, making four leaves or eight pages front and back
sheetsheet
The large piece of paper (18 by 14 inches in size) with which the printer began and which was pressed into the inked type.
The large piece of paper (18 by 14 inches in size) with which the printer began and which was pressed into the inked type.
SHAKESPEARE’s
DRAMA and Theatre
•Playhouses
•Actors
•Companies
•Playhouses
•Actors
•Companies
•Texts
•Various editions
•Texts
•Various editions
The specific case of Shakespeare’s drama
Texts and Pretexts Texts and Pretexts
• Melchiori: ‘pre-testi’
“I testi di Shakespeare non venivano considerati opere letterarie compiute ma pretesti per un evento che si rinnova di giorno in giorno, mai uguale a se stesso”
Primo in-folio 1623 (36 drammi divisi da Heminge e Condell in comedies, tragedies e histories)
secondo in-folio 1632
terzo in -folio 1663
quarto in-folio 1685
Gli ultimi tre in-folio derivarono l’uno dall’altro, ed è quindi il primo il più interessante dal punto di vista filologico
In realtà la pirateria letteraria molto frequente: attori e editori senza scrupoli pubblicavano versioni ricostruite a memoria
Vari in-quarto (bad quartos)
I copioni erano di proprietà delle compagnie
Nessuna compagnia aveva interesse a far ‘pubblicare’ le opere:
I copioni erano di proprietà delle compagnie
Nessuna compagnia aveva interesse a far ‘pubblicare’ le opere:
Tutte le opere letterarie dovevano venire inserite nel registro della Corporazione dei Cartolai (Stationer’s Register) che per 6 pence in teoria proteggeva da violazione dei diritti di proprietà.
Tutte le opere letterarie dovevano venire inserite nel registro della Corporazione dei Cartolai (Stationer’s Register) che per 6 pence in teoria proteggeva da violazione dei diritti di proprietà.
In realtà i testi dei plays shakepeariani sono documenti teatrali sopravvissuti casualmente alla distruzione cui erano
destinati
Stanley Well: “I testi shakespeariani sopravvissuti al tempo presentano quei drammi in vari stadi composizione, ciascuno di essi non è che l’ istantanea scattata le tante possibili che non furono mai scattate”
Stanley Well: “I testi shakespeariani sopravvissuti al tempo presentano quei drammi in vari stadi composizione, ciascuno di essi non è che l’ istantanea scattata le tante possibili che non furono mai scattate”