Overview
- Situates the apes in Shakespeare’s plays in the context of uncelebrated uses by other playwrights
- Investigates the theatrical appearances of real monkeys and actors dressed up as apes
- Argues that the ape trope is so insistent in early modern drama that it becomes a structural metaphor
Part of the book series: Early Modern Literature in History (EMLH)
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Keywords
- animal performance studies
- early modern drama
- metatheatre
- monkeys and apes on stage
- Shakespeare
- political theatre
- ritual
- masque
About this book
This book is the first full-length study of apes and monkeys on the early modern stage. It broadens the scope of existing scholarship by situating the apes glimpsed in Shakespeare’s plays in the wider context of the many uncelebrated uses by other playwrights, c. 1603-1659. The book investigates the theatrical appearances of real monkeys, actors dressed up as apes, and characters mistaken for them, arguing that the ape trope is so insistent in early modern drama that it becomes a structural metaphor. It addresses both plays and masques across the period, arguing that the ways of seeing in these different kinds of theatre make apes mean differently in their generic contexts. Grounded in historicist readings, this book also draws significantly on the field of ritual studies and the new intersectional discipline of animal performance studies.
Reviews
"Grant is at the top of her game, combin[ing] a deep and impressive familiarity with the early English theater in its less canonical forms and also a powerful talent for close reading." (Bruce Boehrer, Bertram H. Davis Professor Emeritus, Department of English, Florida State University, USA)
"Grant's knowledge of lesser-known early modern plays is deeply impressive, as is her understanding of the cultural complexities of the period's engagement with apes and monkeys". (Karen Edwards, Professor of English and Creative Writing, University of Exeter, UK)
"…raises new and often unexpected issues at every turn. Altogether, a great book: full of surprises and fresh perceptions. I enjoyed it immensely!"(Anthony W. Johnson, J. O. E. Donner Professor of English Language and Literature, Åbo Akademi University, Finland)
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Teresa Grant is Director of the Centre for the Study of the Renaissance and Associate Professor in Renaissance Theatre in the department of English and Comparative Literary Studies at the University of Warwick, UK. With primary research interests in early modern theatre, she also publishes more widely on Renaissance culture and on the history of the book. She is a general editor of The Complete Works of James Shirley (2022-).
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Apes and Monkeys on the Early Modern Stage, 1603–1659
Authors: Teresa Grant
Series Title: Early Modern Literature in History
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media Studies, Literature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-031-53986-2Due: 10 June 2024
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-031-53989-3Due: 10 June 2024
eBook ISBN: 978-3-031-53987-9Due: 10 June 2024
Series ISSN: 2634-5919
Series E-ISSN: 2634-5927
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XVI, 311
Number of Illustrations: 5 b/w illustrations, 12 illustrations in colour