Late Shakespeare, late players

Power, Andrew J.

doi:10.1017/cbo9781139060189.011

Cited by 2 publications

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“…It is therefore probable that ‘the material and institutional conditions in which [these plays] were produced’ (McMullan, Idea 8) had a greater impact on their composition than did their author's personal sentiments. Some scholars have argued that certain well‐known features of these plays may have been the result of ‘a pragmatic utilisation’ (Power 185) of the King's Men's new resources. Towards the end of Shakespeare's career, as a result of ‘the inevitable march of time’ (173), his company saw the departure of original members and an influx of new apprentices who were not yet ready to take up leading roles.…”

Section: Late Playsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Towards the end of Shakespeare's career, as a result of ‘the inevitable march of time’ (173), his company saw the departure of original members and an influx of new apprentices who were not yet ready to take up leading roles. This, Andrew J. Power points out, left a conspicuous age gap between the leading male actors and the boy actors who played the female parts, which made a focus on the romantic pairing of the protagonists slightly undesirable. Consequently, the plots' centre begins to shift from love interest to familial separation and reunion.…”

Section: Late Playsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Labelling Shakespeare's ‘Last Plays’

Xing

2015

Literature Compass

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Written near the end of the playwright's career and generically and stylistically distinct, Shakespeare's ‘last plays’ have often been considered as a separate group. There is, however, no academic agreement on which plays are the ‘last plays’ nor how, as a category, they should be termed. By briefly examining four of the most popular ways of classifying them (‘last plays’, ‘romances’, ‘late plays’ and ‘tragicomedies’), this article reviews difficulties of grouping and labelling the plays and examines the limitations of current critical approaches to late Shakespeare. It also functions as an overview of the distinctive features of these ‘last plays’.

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Section: Late Playsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Late Playsmentioning

confidence: 99%