Title: Dressed in the trappings of a sentimental heroine : costuming Shakespeare's Juliet on the eighteenth-century English stage
Source document: Theory and Practice in English Studies. 2021, vol. 10, iss. 1, pp. 79-100
Extent
79-100
-
ISSN1805-0859
Stable URL (handle): https://hdl.handle.net/11222.digilib/143987
Type: Article
Language
License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International
Notice: These citations are automatically created and might not follow citation rules properly.
Abstract(s)
The popularity of Romeo and Juliet in the later part of the eighteenth century has been largely attributed to David Garrick's 1748 adaptation of Shakespeare's text. Not only was Garrick's version hugely popular when it debuted, but Garrick's script has proved to be the "most enduringly successful production of the play" (Berg 1989, 30). Not only does Garrick's adaptation significantly cut down the original text, in favour of adding pantomime and dancing scenes, but the character of Juliet is substantially altered. Garrick's Juliet is clad in the trappings of a sentimental heroine and is represented in the text as an opinionated and selfmotivated young woman whose actions are driven by her own desires. In this article I will explore Garrick's refashioning of Shakespeare's tragic heroine, looking specifically at how changes were made to the dialogue and choices regarding the character's costume which recast Juliet in the trappings of a sentimental heroine. Charting the transformation of Juliet both on-stage and in the socio-cultural lexicon from tragic to spirited sentimental heroine, I will examine Garrick's adaptation in conjunction with images of Juliet produced by Anthony Walker and Ignatius Joseph van den Berghe looking specifically at the role of costume in communicating Juliet's newfound sentimentality. Ultimately, this essay will pose questions about the larger significance of Garrick's Juliet and her sentimental characterisation in conjunction with discussions of women in the public sphere.
References
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[14] Mandell, Laura. 1999. Misogynous Economies: The Business of Literature in Eighteenth-Century Britain. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky.
[15] Mullan, John. 1990. Sentiment and Sociability: The Language of Feeling in the Eighteenth Century. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
[16] Nussbaum, Felicity. 2010. Rival Queens: Actresses, Performance and the Eighteenth-Century British Theatre. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
[17] Pepys, Samuel. 2016. The Diary of Samuel Pepys, Vol. 3: 1662, edited by Robert Latham and William Matthews. Accessed through Oxford Scholarly Editions Online.
[18] Richardson, Samuel. 1740. The History of Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded. Accessed through Gale Eighteenth Century Collections Online.
[19] Ritchie, Leslie. 2015. "Pox on Both Your Houses: The Battle of the Romeos." Eighteenth-Century Fiction 27, no. 3–4: 374–93.
[20] Rivero, Albert J. 2019. "Introduction." In The Sentimental Novel in the Eighteenth Century, edited by idem, 1–14. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[21] Shillitoe, Thomas. 1798. A Caution and Warning to the Inhabitants of Great Britain: But More Especially to Her Rulers, and All in Power. London: printed for the Authors; and sold by Darton and Harvey.
[22] Wilson, John Dover. 1960. "Production History." In Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, edited by John Dover Wilson. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[23] Winchester Stone Jr., George, and George M. Kajrl. 1979. David Garrick: A Critical Biography. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.
[2] Berg, Alexa. 1989. "The Interpretation of Romeo and Juliet from Garrick to BridgesAdams: An Historical Study of Tradition and Innovation in English Shakespearean Production." PhD diss., University of Alberta. https://doi.org/10.7939/R3K35MR5S. | DOI 10.7939/R3K35MR5S
[3] Edwards, Lydia. 2017. How to Read a Dress: A Guide to Changing Fashion from the 16th to 20th Century. London: Bloomsbury Academic.
[4] Feather, John. 1988. "Part Two: Licence and Liberty: 1695–1800." In A History of Book Publishing, edited by idem, 62–121. London: Routledge.
[5] Flint, Christopher. 1998. "Speaking Objects: The Circulation of Stories in EighteenthCentury Prose Fiction." PMLA 113, no. 2: 212–26. https://doi.org/10.2307/463361. | DOI 10.2307/463361
[6] "A Gentleman." 1744. In Man superior to Woman: or, the Natural Right of the Men to Sovereign Authority over the Women, Asserted and Defended. London: printed for J. Robinson. Accessed through Gale Eighteenth Century Collections Online.
[7] Gentleman, Francis. 1770. "Romeo and Juliet. Altered from Shakespeare by Garrick." In The Dramatic Censor; or Critical Companion, edited by idem, vol. 1, 171–93. London: printed for J. Bell and C. Etherington.
[8] Goring, Paul. 2009. The Rhetoric of Sensibility in Eighteenth-Century Culture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[9] Guyse, John. 1729. Youth reminded of a Judgement to come. In a Sermon Preach'd at Petty-France, December 25, 1728. Publish'd at the Request of many that heard it. London: printed for John Clark and Richard Hett, and John Oswald.
[10] Gwilliam, Tassie. 1991. "Pamela and the Duplicitous Body of Femininity." Representations, no. 34: 104–33. https://doi.org/10.2307/2928772. | DOI 10.2307/2928772
[11] Hollander, Anne. 1994. Sex and Suits: The Evolution of Modern Dress. Kodansha America.
[12] "J. C – – n." 1773. "To the PRINTER of the LADY'S MAGAZINE." The Lady's Magazine; or entertaining companion for the fair sex, appropriated solely for their use and amusement, vol. 4: 292–293. London: printed for G. Robinson.
[13] LeGates, Marlene. 1976. "The Cult of Womanhood in Eighteenth-Century Thought." Eighteenth-Century Studies 10, no. 1: 21–39. https://doi.org/10.2307/2737815. | DOI 10.2307/2737815
[14] Mandell, Laura. 1999. Misogynous Economies: The Business of Literature in Eighteenth-Century Britain. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky.
[15] Mullan, John. 1990. Sentiment and Sociability: The Language of Feeling in the Eighteenth Century. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
[16] Nussbaum, Felicity. 2010. Rival Queens: Actresses, Performance and the Eighteenth-Century British Theatre. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
[17] Pepys, Samuel. 2016. The Diary of Samuel Pepys, Vol. 3: 1662, edited by Robert Latham and William Matthews. Accessed through Oxford Scholarly Editions Online.
[18] Richardson, Samuel. 1740. The History of Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded. Accessed through Gale Eighteenth Century Collections Online.
[19] Ritchie, Leslie. 2015. "Pox on Both Your Houses: The Battle of the Romeos." Eighteenth-Century Fiction 27, no. 3–4: 374–93.
[20] Rivero, Albert J. 2019. "Introduction." In The Sentimental Novel in the Eighteenth Century, edited by idem, 1–14. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[21] Shillitoe, Thomas. 1798. A Caution and Warning to the Inhabitants of Great Britain: But More Especially to Her Rulers, and All in Power. London: printed for the Authors; and sold by Darton and Harvey.
[22] Wilson, John Dover. 1960. "Production History." In Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, edited by John Dover Wilson. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[23] Winchester Stone Jr., George, and George M. Kajrl. 1979. David Garrick: A Critical Biography. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.