Discoveries on the Early Modern Stage

Discoveries on the Early Modern Stage Contexts and Conventions

Paperback (12 Nov 2020)

  • $40.92
Add to basket

Includes delivery to the United States

10+ copies available online - Usually dispatched within 7 days

Other formats/editions

Publisher's Synopsis

This study of the action of discovery as plot device, visual motif, and thematic trope on the early modern stage considers an important and popular performance convention in its cultural and religious contexts. Through close examination of a number of 'discoveries' taken from a wide range of early modern plays, Leslie Thomson traverses several related disciplines, including theatre history, literary analysis, art history, and the history of the religious practices that would have influenced Shakespeare and his contemporaries. Taking as its primary focus the performance of disguise-discoveries and discovery scenes, the analyses include considerations of how this particular device relates to genre, plot structure, language, imagery, themes, and the manipulation of playgoer expectations. With strong reference to the visual arts, and an appendix that addresses the problem of how and where discovery scenes were performed, Thomson offers an innovative perspective on the staging and meaning of early modern drama.

Book information

ISBN: 9781108454360
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Pub date:
DEWEY: 822.309
DEWEY edition: 23
Language: English
Number of pages: 277
Weight: 410g
Height: 152mm
Width: 229mm
Spine width: 20mm