1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910456797003321

Titolo

Spheres of action : speech and performance in Romantic culture / / edited by Alexander Dick and Angela Esterhammer

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Toronto, [Ontario] ; ; Buffalo, [New York] ; ; London, [England] : , : University of Toronto Press, , 2009

©2009

ISBN

1-4426-8918-8

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (315 p.)

Disciplina

820.9/145

Soggetti

English literature - 18th century - History and criticism

English literature - 19th century - History and criticism

Language and languages in literature

Romanticism - Great Britain

Speech acts (Linguistics)

Performative (Philosophy)

Electronic books.

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Illustrations -- Introduction: Romantic Spheres of Action / Esterhammer, Angela / Dick, Alexander -- PART 1. Public Speaking -- 1. Re-sounding Romanticism: John Thelwall and the Science and Practice of Elocution / Thompson, Judith -- 2. Coleridge the Lecturer, A Disappearing Act / Zimmerman, Sarah M. -- 3. Wordsworth's Lament / Dick, Alexander -- 4. Blasphemy Trials and The Cenci: Parody as Performative / Myers, Victoria -- 5. A Race of Devils: Frankenstein, Romanticism, and the Tragedy of Human Origin / Oort, Richard Van -- PART 2. Body Language -- 6. Telling Lies with Body Language / Burwick, Frederick -- 7. Cross-Dressing and the Performance of Gender in Romantic-Period Comic Plays by Women / Purinton, Marjean D. -- 8. Fox's Tears: The Staging of Liquid Politics / O'Quinn, Daniel -- 9. Citational Cosmopolitics: Staël, Byron, and the Foreignizing Effect of Cultural Translation / Lambier, Joshua -- 10. Captain Barclay's Performance: Decoding Pedestrianism in Early



Nineteenth-Century Britain / Crochunis, Thomas C. -- Works Cited -- Contributors -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

With contributions from leading Romanticist scholars who draw on literary history, performance studies, philosophy, linguistics, and anthropology, Spheres of Action examines the significant intersections between language and performance during the Romantic period. These essays consider cultural phenomena such as elocution and political oratory, newspaper journalism, public mourning, the function of gesture and clothing in theatre - even a long-distance walking contest. They examine the problematic relationships among action, agency, and language in a variety of cultural institutions and media from the era. Exploring aspects of public speaking and body language, these essays propose that understanding the culture and institutions of the Romantic period requires nuanced approaches to performance and agency. The collection also studies the ways in which the Romantics discovered both the potency and limitations of performativity. Presenting a boldly multifaceted portrait of Romantic culture, Spheres of Action is essential reading for Romanticists, historians, and scholars with interests in language and performance.