Abstract:
This talk argues that the triumphal parade, a staple of English drama from Lodge’s The Wounds of Civil War to Dryden’s The Indian Queen, was a key device which English playwrights used to characterize pagan empires and their ethics. I place Antony and Cleopatra (1606) in relationship to both the rich theatrical tradition of stage triumphs and extra-theatrical representations and appropriations of triumph in Stuart England, arguing that Shakespeare’s tragedy and a contemporary play, Marston’s The Wonder of Women, or the Tragedy of Sophonisba, represent a decisive shift in the use of these set-pieces onstage. Shakespeare and Marston, I argue, respond to the appropriation of the Roman triumph in civic and royal contexts and in doing so, provide a pointed critique of England’s own imperial aspirations. I conclude by showing how the material circumstances of the theater itself, particularly the sourcing of its properties, would sit increasingly uneasily next to the anti-imperial critiques offered by the institution’s narrative products as the seventeenth century wore on.
This event will be held online via Zoom. You can access the meeting using this link: https://columbiauniversity.zoom.us/j/93873537817?pwd=S0ptNnpESjNMK0NMazd5dzVCYWQrZz09. The full Zoom invitation is copied below.
The meeting will be held from 7-8:30pm EST, with announcements from 7-7:15pm, the talk 7:15-8:00pm and Q&A from 8-8:30pm. We will also host a casual social/cocktail half hour after the meeting. Since there won't be a dinner and we have no space constraints, an RSVP is not required.
