Shakespeare's Professional CareerShakespeare's career as actor and playwright reveals the extraordinary accommodation of his genius to the circumstances of his time. This unique account describes Shakespeare at work against a background of theatrical rivalry, opportunism, service to noble patrons, and political intrigue. Peter Thomson recreates Shakespeare's writing career year by year, showing how the plays mirror their times. The story reveals the precarious nature of theatrical survival, the constant threat posed by the withdrawal of noble or royal patronage, the spread of disease, the anxieties of war and the climate of political uncertainty. This account of Elizabethan and Jacobean social and professional life offers a fascinating insight into the world in which Shakespeare produced his plays. There are numerous illustrations gleaned from museums, libraries and great houses to illustrate the theatrical and social context of Elizabethan and Jacobean England. Formerly published within the Cambridge Canto imprint, this paperback restores the format and illustrations of the original hardback. |
Contents
of patrons and provinces | 27 |
Section from Visschers Londinium The Guildhall | 43 |
London 1590 | 56 |
A playtext and its context | 82 |
15941603 | 109 |
des musées nationaux Paris | 146 |
Of Queen Chamberlains Admiral and King | 148 |
Paul van Somers portrait of James I The Royal | 161 |
16031616 | 166 |
The North Berwick witches | 178 |
The Chandos portrait of Shakespeare National Portrait | 191 |
Notes | 194 |
208 | |
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Common terms and phrases
actors Admiral's Admiral's Men audience Augustine Phillips Bankside Ben Jonson Blackfriars Boar's Head Brayne brothels career Carey Catholic century certainly Chamber Chamberlain's Christmas clown collaboration Comedy company of players Court dance death Dekker drama Earl of Derby Earl of Essex Earl of Southampton Earl's early Edward Alleyn Elizabeth Elizabethan theatre England English entertainment evidence February Ferdinando Fortune Globe Henslowe Henslowe's Diary Honigmann Howard Jacobean James Burbage James I's Jonson Kempe King King's King's Men Lady Lord Admiral Lord Burghley Lord Chamberlain Lord Chamberlain's Men Lord Hunsdon Lord Strange's Lord Strange's Men marriage masques Measure for Measure patron patronage performance perhaps plague plays playwright plot political popular portrait Prince Henry Privy Council probably professional theatre Puritan Queen recorded reign repertoire Richard Burbage Richard III Robert Cecil royal Rutter Sir John Southwark Stanley Stratford summer surviving Swan Tarlton theatrical Thomas tour tragedy Tudor William Shakespeare Willough writing