Shakespeare's Dramatic Persons

In Shakespeare's Dramatic Persons, Travis Curtright examines the influence of the classical rhetorical tradition on early modern theories of acting in a careful study of and selection from Shakespeare's most famous characters and successful plays. Curtright demonstrates that personation--the early modern term for playing a role--is a rhetorical acting style that could provide audiences with lifelike characters and action, including the theatrical illusion that dramatic persons possess interiority or inwardness. Shakespeare's Dramatic Persons focuses on major characters such as Richard III, Katherina, Benedick, and Iago, and ranges from Shakespeare's early to late work, exploring particular rhetorical forms and how they function at five different plays. At the end of this study, Curtright envisions how Richard Burbage, Shakespeare's best actor, might have employed the theatrical convention of directly addressing audience members. --cover.