Shakespeare’s Surrogates: Rewriting Renaissance Drama

197 Pages·2013·2.934 MB·English

by  Sonya Freeman Loftis (auth.)

SShhakkespeare’’s SSurrogates

SShhakkespeare’’s SSurrogates
Rewriting Renaissance Drama
Sonya Freeman Loftis
SHAKESPEARE’SSURROGATES
Copyright © Sonya Freeman Loftis, 2013.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2013 978-1-137-35253-8
All Rights Reserved.
Part of chapter 1 fifi rst appeared in SHAW: The Annual of Bernard Shaw
Studies, volume 29 © 2009 by Penn State Press and is reprinted courtesy
of Penn State Press.
Part of chapter 2 fifi rst appeared in Friedemann Weidauer, The Brecht
Yearbook, volume 37 © 2012 by the Board of Regents of the University of
Wisconsin System. Reprinted courtesy of The University of Wisconsin Press.
Part of chapter 6 fi rst appeared in Text & Presentation , 2009 © 2010 edited
by Kiki Gounaridou by permission of McFarland & Company, Inc, Box 611,
Jefferson NC 28640. www.mcfarlandpub.com.
First published in 2013 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN®
in the United States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world,
this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills,
Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies
and has companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States,
the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN 978-1-349-46926-0 ISBN 978-1-137-32137-4 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9781137321374
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Loftis, Sonya Freeman, 1983–
Shakespeare’s Surrogates: Rewriting Renaissance Drama / Sonya
Freeman Loftis.
pages cm
1. Drama—20th century—History and criticism. 2. Shakespeare,
William, 1564–1616—Inflfluence. I. Title.
PN1861.L63 2013
809.2(cid:2)04—dc23 2013024478
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
Design by Newgen Knowledge Works (P) Ltd., Chennai, India.
First edition: December 2013
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For my parents
David and Susan Freeman

CContents
A Acknowledgments ixx
Introduction: Attacking the Canon through the Corpse xi
Chapter 1 “Blaming the Bard”: Shaw, Shakespeare, Shotover 1
Chapter2 Tearing the Skin Off of History: Brecht and the
Early Modern Body 33
Chapter3 “To face my dead at last”: The Personal and Literary
Ghosts of Long Day’s Journey into Night 65
Chapter4 “Some remains”: Forgetting Shakespeare in
Endgameeand Happy Days 79
Chapter 5 “Blood is compulsory”: The Player’s Death in
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead 97
Chapter 6 “ A MOTHER’S WOMB IS NOT A ONE-WAY
STREET”: Reentering the Shakespearean Womb of
Hamletmachine 111
AAfterword 135
Notes 141
Index 161

AAckknowlleddgments
Thanks to the many people who commented on chapters
in progress, among them Fran Teague, Christy Desmet,
Hugh Ruppersburg, John Vance, Linda Zatlin, Lisaa
Ulevich, Allison Lenhardt, and Jessica Walker. Special thanks
to Lisa and Jessica, who fed me—physically, intellectually, and
spiritually—as I was writing these pages. Lisa’s patience with end-
less drafts was nearly supernatural, and Jessica’s optimism never
ceases to encourage me. I could not have written this book with-
out them. Thanks to Joyce Stavick, who started me on this path
in the first place: gifted with far-seeing eyes, Joyce knew where
I was going long before I did. I must thank Andrea Richardson
and Stephanie Frankum: through our many years of friendship
they have both inspired me with their compassion and sense off
adventure. Finally, thanks to my husband Matt, who has always
accepted me exactly as I am.