Shakespeare's adolescents
Age, gender and the body in Shakespearean performance and early modern culture
Victoria Sparey
- 240 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
Shakespeare's adolescents
Age, gender and the body in Shakespearean performance and early modern culture
Victoria Sparey
About This Book
Shakespeare's adolescents examines the varied representation of adolescent characters in Shakespeare's plays. Using early modern medical knowledge and an understanding of contemporary theatrical practices, the book unpacks complexities that surrounded the cultural and theatrical representations of 'signs' associated with an individual's physical maturation. Each chapter explores the implications of different 'signs' of puberty, in verbal cues, facial adornments, vocal traits and body sizes, to illuminate how Shakespeare presents vibrant adolescent selves and stories.
By analysing female and male puberty together in its discussion of adolescence, Shakespeare's adolescents provides fresh insight into the age-based symmetry of early modern adolescent identities. The book uses the adolescent's state of transformation to illuminate how the unfixed nature of adolescence was valued in early modern culture and through Shakespeare's celebrated characters and actors.