1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910825223403321

Titolo

Victorian classical burlesques : a critical anthology / Laura MonroĢs-Gaspar

Pubbl/distr/stampa

London, : Bloomsbury Academic, 2015

ISBN

1-4725-3786-6

1-4742-1924-1

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (313 p.)

Collana

Bloomsbury Studies in Classical Reception

Altri autori (Persone)

BlanchardE. L <1820-1889.> (Edward L.)

TalfourdFrancis <1828-1862.>

BroughRobert B <1828-1860.> (Robert Barnabas)

Disciplina

822/.809

Soggetti

Burlesque (Literature) - History and criticism

English drama (Comedy) - Classical influences

English drama (Comedy) - 19th century - History and criticism

Women in literature

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index

Nota di contenuto

Why classical burlesque? -- Enacting the past and the present -- The histories of Victorian classical burlesque -- Texts and contexts -- Note on the texts and this edition -- List of representative nineteenth-century classical burlesques -- Antigone : travestie / Edward L. Blanchard -- Alcestis, the original strong-minded woman / Francis Talfourd -- Medea; or, the best of mothers, with a brute of a husband / Robert Brough -- Electra in a new electric light / Francis Talfourd

List of Illustrations -- Acknowledgements -- 1. Why Classical burlesque? -- 1.1. Enacting the past and the present -- 1.2. Texts and Contexts -- 1.3. Note on the texts and this edition -- 1.4. List of Representative Nineteenth-Century Classical Burlesques -- 2. Antigone Travestie, Edward Litt Leman Blanchard (1845) -- 3. Alcestis; or the Original Strong-Minded Woman, Francis Talfourd (1850) -- 4. Medea; or the Best of Mothers with a Brute of a Husband, Robert Brough (1856) -- 5. Electra in a New Electric Light, Francis Talfourd (1859) -- Bibliography -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

The Victorian classical burlesque was a popular theatrical genre of the



mid-19th century. It parodied ancient tragedies with music, melodrama, pastiche, merciless satire and gender reversal. Immensely popular in its day, the genre was also intensely metatheatrical and carries significance for reception studies, the role and perception of women in Victorian society and the culture of artistic censorship. This anthology contains the annotated text of four major classical burlesques: Antigone Travestie (1845) by Edward L. Blanchard, Medea; or, the Best of Mothers with a Brute of a Husband (1856) by Robert Brough, Alcestis; the Original Strong-Minded Woman (1850) and Electra in a New Electric Light (1859) by Francis Talfourd. The cultural and textual annotations highlight the changes made to the scripts from the manuscripts sent to the Lord Chamberlain's office and, by explaining the topical allusions and satire, elucidate elements of the burlesques' popular cultural milieu. An in-depth critical introduction discusses the historical contexts of the plays' premieres and unveils the cultural processes behind the reception of the myths and original tragedies. As the burlesques combined spectacular effects with allusions to contemporary affairs, ambivalent and provocative attitudes to women, the plays represent an essential tool for reading the social history of the era