Nicholas Rowe and the Beginnings of Feminism on the London StageNicholas Rowe flourished during the first quarter of the 18thc: he was poet laureate to George I, the author of eight plays(three of which were great successes) and he was the esteemed translator of Lucan's PHARSALIA as well as the first modern editor of Shakespeare's plays. But most of all he was known as a playwright. Rowe's 'She-tragedies" gave great prominence to women characters and further developed the Whig virtues of the ruling political elite: individual freedom and a belief in a strong parliament which would bring the cause of the people before a constitutionally limited, reasonable monarchy. Professor Sennett's new monograph discusses Rowe's vision of women caught up by tragic, unreasonable threat or menace. He also explores the literary and the political stakes in late Stuart and early Hanoverian theatre.. New material on Rowe's life and his attempt to include ideas that can be described as incipient feminism are brought forward. While not a general biography, Sennett's new work is a contribution to the scholarship that has called for a new examination of Rowe and the Whig London of the early 18th century. |
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Page 20
... audiences but rather to blind - side them by presenting arguments for women's rights wrapped in characters the audience could not help but to admire for their courage in other areas . Rowe's writing of feminist heroes encompasses more ...
... audiences but rather to blind - side them by presenting arguments for women's rights wrapped in characters the audience could not help but to admire for their courage in other areas . Rowe's writing of feminist heroes encompasses more ...
Page 21
... audiences of the early eighteenth century would have expected Jane to have accepted his forgiveness joyfully and then died in his arms . Aikins holds that by not giving the audience what it would expect , Rowe had entrapped them and ...
... audiences of the early eighteenth century would have expected Jane to have accepted his forgiveness joyfully and then died in his arms . Aikins holds that by not giving the audience what it would expect , Rowe had entrapped them and ...
Page 168
... audience would have realized that Rowe was pointing to the strength by which Socrates had sent his wife away so that he could die a man among other men . And the memory of Cato's tragic death would have also been fresh in the audience's ...
... audience would have realized that Rowe was pointing to the strength by which Socrates had sent his wife away so that he could die a man among other men . And the memory of Cato's tragic death would have also been fresh in the audience's ...
Contents
CHAPTER ONE BACKGROUND ON THE STUDY OF NICHOLAS | 11 |
CHAPTER TWO THE BEGINNINGS OF ROWES CAREER | 25 |
CHAPTER THREE CHALLENGES FOR ACTRESSES | 47 |
Copyright | |
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