The Portable Theater American Literature & The Nineteenth-Century Stage

This study investigates the importance of theatre in the works of Walt Whitman, Herman Melville, William Dean Howells, Louisa May Alcott and Henry James. Whether as critics, playwrights, actors or theatre-goers, each thought deeply about the theatre and represented it in literature. Alan Ackerman argues that the importance of theatre in the works of these authors can be seen in the prolific and innovative use of theatrical metaphors, the widespread use of historically contingent theatrical idioms, and in aspects of literary form which represent dramaturgical methods.;The author seeks to offer new ways of understanding problems ranging from the idiosyncracies of Melville's prose style to the much-pondered differences between the early and late James. Recognizing the influence of drama on other genres, Ackerman concludes, leads to a greater understanding of not only the ethical and artistic significance of 19th-century American letters, but also the rich complexities of particular American lives.