The Stage Clown in Shakespeare's Theatre

by Bente Videbaek

Overview

The majority of Shakespeare's plays have at least one clown figure making an appearance. These characters range from rogues who say only a line or two, to important figures like Touchstone and Falstaff. Videbaek examines even the smallest clown roles, showing how the clown's freedom of speech allows him to become a mediator between the audience and the action of the play, helping audience interpretation. This illuminating celebration of the stage clown's contribution to the understanding and enjoyment of Shakespeare's plays will be a valuable resource for both students and scholars alike.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313298721
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	04/18/1996
Series:	Contributions in Drama and Theatre Studies , #69
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.62(d)
Lexile:	1250L (what's this?)

About the Author

BENTE A. VIDEBAEK is an Adjunct Professor of English at Suffolk County Community College. Born in Denmark, she holds degrees in English and Danish/Scandinavian from the University of Copenhagen. After moving to the United States, she obtained a doctoral degree in English literature from Northwestern University.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Minor Roles: Cameo Appearance, Great Effect
Rustic Clowns in Titus Andronicus, The Taming of the Shrew, Antony and Cleopatra
Servant Clowns in Romeo and Juliet, Othello, Macbeth, Timon of Athens, The Tempest
Miscellaneous Clowns in Richard III, Hamlet, Pericles, Cymbeline, The Winter's Tale
Major Roles: Expanded Function
Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing
The Dromios in The Comedy of Errors, Speed and Launce in The Two Gentlemen of Verona
Costard in Love's Labour's Lost, Launcelot Gobbo in The Merchant of Venice
Pompey in Measure for Measure
The Court Jesters in the Comedies
Lavatch in All's Well That Ends Well
Touchstone in As You Like It
Feste in Twelfth Night
The Clown as "The Bitter Fool"
Thersites in Troilus and Cressida
Lear's Fool in King Lear
Falstaff as Clown
The Henriad
The Merry Wives of Windsor
Clown Characteristics in Non-Clown Characters
Philip the Bastard in King John
Hamlet in Hamlet
Conclusion
Appendix: The Elizabethan Clown
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Shakespeare wrote a surprisingly large number of plays in which the clown plays a major contribution to the understanding of the play. Videbaek (English, Suffolk County Community College) examines the roles that clowns and clown-like figures play in specific plays, including lightening or deepening the atmosphere, signaling a turning point, mediating between the audience and the actors, and undermining or supporting the protagonists. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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