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Introduction: Shakespeare's public spheres

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journal contribution
posted on 2019-07-17, 15:43 authored by Nigel WoodNigel Wood
Habermas’ sense of a “cultural Public Sphere” is a notoriously complex term and, when applied to Early Modern cultures, needs careful definition. This essay both introduces the variety of methods by which we might approach playtexts with a view to their public – auditory – impact and contributes to a debate about an audience's understanding of Shakespeare's plays. By selecting two words and their spread of use in one play, Twelfth Night, we might appreciate the potential for meaningful ambiguity latent in how we hear the language of live performance. If we search for how certain terms (in this case, the cluster of semes derived from repetitions of “fancy” and “play”), we might find at times incompatible senses, yet we get near to appreciating the range of Early Modern dramatic language.

History

School

  • The Arts, English and Drama

Department

  • English and Drama

Published in

Shakespeare

Volume

14

Issue

1

Pages

1 - 11

Citation

WOOD, N., 2018. Introduction: Shakespeare's public spheres. Shakespeare, 14 (1), pp.1-11.

Publisher

Taylor & Francis © Nigel Wood

Version

  • AM (Accepted Manuscript)

Publisher statement

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Shakespeare on 15 March 2018, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/17450918.2018.1439093.

Publication date

2018

ISSN

1745-0918

eISSN

1745-0926

Language

  • en

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    Loughborough Publications

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