A Place in the Story: Servants and Service in Shakespeare's PlaysThis book explores the virtues Shakespeare made of the cultural necessities of servants and service. Although all of Shakespeare's plays feature servants as characters, and many of these characters play prominent roles, surprisingly little attention has been paid to them or to the concept of service. A Place in the Story is the first book-length overview of the uses Shakespeare makes of servant-characters and the early modern concept of service. Service was not only a fact of life in Shakespeare's era, but also a complex ideology. The book discusses service both as an ideal and an insult, examines how servants function in the plays, and explores the language of service. Other topics include loyalty, advice, messengers, conflict, disobedience, and violence. Servants were an intrinsic part of early modern life and Shakespeare found servant-characters and the concept of service useful in many different ways. Linda Anderson teaches at Virginia Polytechnic University. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 59
Page 9
... given — if not its own voice at least continual representation throughout Western lit- erature from the earliest times almost to the present . VOLUME OF SHAKESPEARE STUDIES IS SO GREAT THAT IT SOME- The lack of attention paid to the ...
... given — if not its own voice at least continual representation throughout Western lit- erature from the earliest times almost to the present . VOLUME OF SHAKESPEARE STUDIES IS SO GREAT THAT IT SOME- The lack of attention paid to the ...
Page 10
... given short shrift ; on the other hand , the question of dying for your master or mistress , which probably did not arise for most real servants , occurs quite often in the plays . Were we to extrapolate the condition of ser- vants in ...
... given short shrift ; on the other hand , the question of dying for your master or mistress , which probably did not arise for most real servants , occurs quite often in the plays . Were we to extrapolate the condition of ser- vants in ...
Page 40
... Given the gen- eral disorder of Olivia's household , we should not , perhaps , be surprised to find both Maria and Fabian as impertinent toward Sir Andrew as toward Sir Toby , but Feste is not only familiar toward everyone in the ...
... Given the gen- eral disorder of Olivia's household , we should not , perhaps , be surprised to find both Maria and Fabian as impertinent toward Sir Andrew as toward Sir Toby , but Feste is not only familiar toward everyone in the ...
Page 44
... given by monarchs to their upper - class " servants , " Berry suggests that in at least some instances Shakespeare depicts the reward- for - service tradition negatively . Commenting on King Henry VI's reward to Alexander Iden " for his ...
... given by monarchs to their upper - class " servants , " Berry suggests that in at least some instances Shakespeare depicts the reward- for - service tradition negatively . Commenting on King Henry VI's reward to Alexander Iden " for his ...
Page 47
... given that we know that Bassanio is in debt and has driven Antonio into debt to pay for his attempt to court Portia , there is no suggestion in the play that Bassanio is behaving badly . In fact , one assumes that not to provide new ...
... given that we know that Bassanio is in debt and has driven Antonio into debt to pay for his attempt to court Portia , there is no suggestion in the play that Bassanio is behaving badly . In fact , one assumes that not to provide new ...
Contents
19 | |
30 | |
The need we have to use you Uses of Servants | 63 |
The mere words a slave Language and Service | 88 |
If I last in this service Loyalty and Disloyalty | 116 |
Good counsel Servants Advice and Commentary | 143 |
Messengers | 158 |
Tis proper I obey him but not now Conflicts of Service | 177 |
Every good servant does not all commands The Duty to Disobey | 200 |
Duty in his service perishing Servants and Violence | 219 |
Remember I have done thee worthy service Conclusion | 237 |
Notes | 243 |
Bibliography | 313 |
Index | 331 |
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A Place in the Story: Servants and Service in Shakespeare's Plays Linda Anderson No preview available - 2005 |
Common terms and phrases
All's Antony and Cleopatra Antony's appears Arden audience Ballads Berry betray Caesar Caliban Camillo Charmian Comedy comic command conflict Coriolanus critics death declares depicted describes disguise disobedience Drama Duke duty early modern edited Elizabethan Emilia employers England Enobarbus example Falstaff Fool Gloucester Hamlet Henry Henry IV Henry VI household Iago Iago's ideal John Kent kill King Lear knave Lady Leontes London Lord loyal loyalty Macbeth Malvolio masterless Masters and Servants Merry Wives messenger mistress murder noble obedience Olivia Oswald Othello play's Politics Prince Queen refers repr reward Richard Richard II Romeo and Juliet says scene seems servant-characters serve Shake Shakespeare and Social Shakespeare Quarterly Shakespeare's plays sing slave Social Class speare's Steward suggests tells thee Thomas thou Timon Timon of Athens tion Titus Titus Andronicus Tragedy Troilus Twelfth Night University Press upper-class characters Upstart Crow vants villain violence virtuous William Winter Winter's Tale women York
Popular passages
Page 31 - That to the observer doth thy history Fully unfold. Thyself and thy belongings Are not thine own so proper, as to waste Thyself upon thy virtues, they on thee. Heaven doth with us as we with torches do, Not light them for themselves ; for if our virtues Did not go forth of us, 'twere all alike As if we had them not.
Page 113 - But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks! It is the east, and Juliet is the sun ! — Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, Who is already sick and pale with grief, That thou her maid art far more fair than she...
Page 159 - Even such a man, so faint, so spiritless, So dull, so dead in look, so woe-begone, Drew Priam's curtain in the dead of night...
Page 58 - Tis not the balm, the sceptre and the ball, The sword, the mace, the crown imperial, The intertissued robe of gold and pearl, The farced title running 'fore the king...
Page 6 - The loyalty well held to fools does make Our faith mere folly : yet he that can endure To follow with allegiance a fall'n lord Does conquer him that did his master conquer, And earns a place i
Page 91 - Set you down this; And say besides, that in Aleppo once, Where a malignant and a turban'd Turk Beat a Venetian and traduced the state, I took by the throat the circumcised dog, And smote him, thus.
Page 177 - O Cromwell, Cromwell, Had I but served my God with half the zeal I served my king, he would not in mine age Have left me naked to mine enemies.
Page 186 - We few, we happy few, we band of brothers ; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother ; be he ne'er so vile, This day shall gentle his condition...
Page 33 - O good old man, how well in thee appears The constant service of the antique world, When service sweat for duty, not for meed...
Page 98 - The heavens themselves, the planets, and this centre, Observe degree, priority, and place, Insisture, course, proportion, season, form, Office, and custom, in all line of order...