Staging Female Characters in Shakespeare's English History Plays

Shakespeare uses female characters to transform history into drama, illuminating the blurry line between history and fiction and the empowering potential of standing outside history. This title is part of the Flip it Open Programme and may also be available Open Access.

Format: Hardback
Length: 280 pages
Publication date: 16 November 2023
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Hailey Bachrach delves into the intricate ways in which Shakespeare employed female characters across his historical plays, unveiling a profound understanding of their significance. By illuminating these patterns, she enables us to perceive these characters not as mere incidental or marginal figures, but rather as a vital lens through which to comprehend Shakespeare's remarkable process of transforming history into dramatic art. Shakespeare strategically utilizes female characters to highlight the blurred boundary between history and fiction on the theatrical stage, vividly portraying the complex and often constrained position of women not only in the historical context itself but also as portrayed within depictions of that past. Within Shakespeare's historical realm, female characters serve as a poignant representation of the impossibility of fully reclaiming the voices that history has excluded, while also embodying the empowering potential of transcending the confines of history, a vision that Shakespeare could only envision through the rich tapestry of theatrical materiality. This title forms part of the Flip it Open Programme and may also be accessible through Open Access. For further details, please visit our website at Cambridge Core.

ISBN-13: 9781009356138