Under the Spell of Shakespeare's Histories

One of the most ambiguous terms in English literary
history and theory has turned out to be historical
drama and all of its available alternatives such as history (play) , chronicle (play) , chronicle
history , etc. used relatively widely during the past
centuries. Under the Spell of Shakespeare s Histories
presents the exciting story of the theoretical
approaches to the above term starting from the
ancient times up until the end of the twentieth
century with a special emphasis on the
English-language sources. After providing a critical
summary of the theories of such major critics as
Samuel Johnson, Coleridge, A. W. Schlegel, Tillyard,
Ribner, Lindenberger and others in the first part,
the present study proposes a new definition which
takes into consideration all the earlier achievements
and shortcomings of the relevant literature. The
author of the present book does not at all consider
the proposed definition as final or faultless but
rather hopes that it will generate a new interest in
a better understanding of a genre so essential in the
dramatic literature of each and every nation in
Europe and elsewhere.

Autorentext
Péter Szaffkó is a professor of English at the University of Debrecen, Hungary, where he has been teaching for more than 30 years. His main research interest is theatre and drama, both theoretical and practical. In addition to Hungary, he has also been teaching as a visiting professor in the USA, the UK and Canada.

Klappentext
One of the most ambiguous terms in English literary history and theory has turned out to be 'historical drama' and all of its available alternatives-such as 'history (play)', 'chronicle (play)', 'chronicle history', etc.-used relatively widely during the past centuries. Under the Spell of Shakespeare's Histories presents the exciting story of the theoretical approaches to the above term starting from the ancient times up until the end of the twentieth century with a special emphasis on the English-language sources. After providing a critical summary of the theories of such major critics as Samuel Johnson, Coleridge, A. W. Schlegel, Tillyard, Ribner, Lindenberger and others in the first part, the present study proposes a new definition which takes into consideration all the earlier achievements and shortcomings of the relevant literature. The author of the present book does not at all consider the proposed definition as final or faultless but rather hopes that it will generate a new interest in a better understanding of a genre so essential in the dramatic literature of each and every nation in Europe and elsewhere.