James Shirley Criticism
James Shirley, an influential English playwright, serves as a crucial link between the Jacobean and Restoration periods, with his career flourishing during the Caroline era. Educated at St. Catherine's College, Cambridge, Shirley initially embarked on a path as an Anglican priest before finding his true calling in the theater. His works are celebrated for their intricate plots, witty dialogue, and incisive social commentary, as highlighted by Albert Wertheim in his analysis of Hyde Park. Shirley adeptly adapted traditional dramatic forms to mirror the changing tastes and societal concerns of his time, marking him as a prolific dramatist in London's vibrant theatrical scene.
Shirley's repertoire is diverse, spanning comedies like Hyde Park, which deftly portrays elite manners, and tragedies such as The Cardinal, a notable work of revenge tragedy noted for its Caroline flair. His ability to weave themes of deception, power, and social dislocation into his narratives has been explored by Richard Morton. Shirley's involvement with courtly masques, particularly The Triumph of Peace, underscores his engagement with themes of monarchical power, as examined by critics Stephen Orgel and Martin Butler.
While some critics have viewed Shirley as a transitional figure more focused on reworking familiar tropes, others like Arthur Huntington Nason and Catherine Belsey have praised his skill in character development and thematic exploration. Despite being overshadowed by his predecessors, modern scholarship increasingly acknowledges Shirley's work as reflective of Caroline society's complexities, with renewed appreciation for his dramatic contributions.
Shirley's themes of power and corruption, and their often unresolved moral dilemmas, are pointed out by Charles R. Forker. His mastery of language and character is critiqued by Juliet McGrath, whereas Ben Lucow and Deborah G. Burks delve into his exploration of honor and political intrigue, underscoring the ongoing relevance of his works. Despite a decline in popularity post-Restoration, Shirley's plays have experienced a 20th-century revival, with critics like Phoebe S. Spinrad analyzing their structural complexities and insights into societal and political issues of his time.
Contents
- Principal Works
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Shirley, James (Drama Criticism)
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Criticism: Overviews
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The General Characteristics of Shirley's Plays
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Forsythe enumerates the dominant characteristics of Shirley's works, describing him as a courtly playwright concerned with moral justice. He also notes that Shirley was an innovative adaptor writing at a time when dramatic conventions were deeply entrenched.
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Deception and Social Dislocation: An Aspect of James Shirley's Drama
(summary)
In the following essay, Morton contends that scholarly interpretations of Shirley's plays have been limited by the tendency to focus on the playwright as a transitional figure between the Renaissance and the Restoration. Morton examines Shirley's use of deception or trickery—especially disguise and mistaken identity—in several plays, finding that this plot motif successfully dramatizes particular social issues of the Caroline era.
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City Comedies: Courtiers and Gentlemen
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Butler examines the relationship between class and politics in Shirley's comedies, particularly as illustrated through the world of manners, drawing a close connection between the courtship behavior of Shirley's lovers and tensions in the Caroline court.
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The Gray's Inn Circle and the Professional Dramatists
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Burner discusses the relationship between theater and audience in the development of new plays, noting that Shirley was among a select coterie of playwrights writing for private theaters and upper-class audiences.
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Shirley's Social Comedy of Adaptation to Degree
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Clark portrays Shirley as socially ambitious and loyal to Charles I, absolute monarchy, and class hierarchy.
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The General Characteristics of Shirley's Plays
(summary)
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Criticism: Hyde Park (1632)
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The Bright Side of the Park
(summary)
In the following review, Billington explores director Barry Kyle's production of Hyde Park at the Swan Theatre as a successful evocation of several literary periods: the Edwardian era of the Bloomsbury group, the witty Restoration, and the class-conscious Caroline age.
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Caroline Courtships
(summary)
In the following review, Potter finds Shirley's Hyde Park banal and overly slight, despite fine performances by the actresses in the three lead female roles.
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Shirley and Shakespeare
(summary)
In the following review, Wilson admires the Swan Theatre production of Hyde Park for its intimate character and for its resurrection of a lost comedy of manners.
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The Triple Plot of Hyde Park
(summary)
In the following essay, Levin emphasizes the importance of interpreting the action of Hyde Park as a unified play rather than as three disconnected plots.
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Too Theatrical? Female Subjectivity in Caroline and Interregnum Drama
(summary)
In the following essay, Tomlinson compares Shirley's Hyde Park to a play written by aristocratic women to illuminate the issue of female subjectivity. She finds in Shirley's female characters a developing assertion of the female self and feminine will.
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The Bright Side of the Park
(summary)
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Criticism: The Triumph Of Peace (1632)
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The Role of King
(summary)
In the following essay, Orgel interprets Jacobean and Caroline masques as a mirror reflecting the crown as it wanted to be seen. He asserts that for Charles I the masque was an expression of the strength of his royal will—even when, as in Shirley's The Triumph of Peace, it attempted to correct or advise the monarch.
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Politics and the Masque: The Triumph of Peace
(summary)
In the following essay, Butler challenges the notion that Caroline masques were merely dramatic spectacles, arguing instead that court masques were one aspect of Charles I's government by consensus. Focusing on Shirley's Triumph of Peace, Butler analyzes how the production of a masque can generate multiple political meanings.
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‘Strangest consequence from remotest cause’: The Second Performance of The Triumph of Peace.
(summary)
In the following essay, McGee discusses the political and financial details of a performance of The Triumph of Peace produced by the City of London, noting that it reflects and illuminates tense relations between Charles I and the city.
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The Role of King
(summary)
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Criticism: The Lady Of Pleasure (1635)
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Platonic Love in Shirley's The Lady of Pleasure
(summary)
In the following essay, Sensabaugh discusses The Lady of Pleasure in light of the courtly cult of platonic love popularized by Queen Henrietta Maria. Tracing the theme of platonic love in the relationship between Lord A and Celestina, Sensabaugh suggests that Shirley portrayed the platonic lovers sympathetically as part of his bid for advancement at court.
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The Staging of Shirley's The Lady of Pleasure
(summary)
In the following essay, Huebert constructs a version of the original production of The Lady of Pleasure, including blocking, casting, and set design. In doing so, he highlights Shirley's use of stagecraft to support the action and dialogue of the play.
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Introduction to The Lady of Pleasure
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Huebert characterizes The Lady of Pleasure as a dramatization of decadence, regarding which Shirley's own stance is unclear.
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Platonic Love in Shirley's The Lady of Pleasure
(summary)
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Criticism: The Cardinal (1641)
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The Cardinal
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Shirley's early twentieth-century biographer, Arthur Nason describes The Cardinal as a romantic tragedy and one of the playwright's best works, noting especially the strength of Shirley's character development, particularly in the female lead role.
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Tragedy, Justice, and the Subject
(summary)
In the following essay, Belsey examines The Cardinal in the contexts of Renaissance revenge tragedy and changing perceptions of political authority.
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‘Seeds of Honour’: The Lady of Pleasure and The Cardinal
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Lucow downplays topical analyses of The Cardinal and instead emphasizes its debt to the revenge-tragedy tradition. Lucow contends that although Shirley considered The Cardinal his best play, it fails to rise to the quality of his best comedies.
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Introduction to The Cardinal
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Yearling emphasizes Shirley's simple style in The Cardinal, but cautions against reading the play as a stripped-down revenge tragedy. Though Yearling discounts a strong connection to Archbishop Laud in the character of the Cardinal, she asserts that the key themes of the play are political.
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The Cardinal
(summary)
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Criticism: Overviews
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Shirley, James (Literary Criticism (1400-1800))
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The Decadence of Revenge Tragedy
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Bowers argues that Shirley's works transcend the decadence into which revenge tragedy had fallen in his time.
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The Cardinal
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Forker maintains that The Cardinal shows brilliant plotting and complex manipulation of the conventions of the revenge tragedy, yet fails to resolve the moral and ethical problems posed in the play.
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James Shirley's Uses of Language
(summary)
In the following essay, McGrath argues that Shirley's works evidence a distrust of language that limits character development.
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Games and Courtship in James Shirley's Hyde Park
(summary)
In the following essay, Wertheim discusses Shirley's technique of mirroring the amorous competition in the racing and gambling competitions in Hyde Park.
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James Shirley's The Example (1634): Some Reconsiderations
(summary)
In the following essay, Cogan examines Shirley's use of plot in his depictions of licit and illicit love.
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‘Seeds of Honour’: The Lady of Pleasure and The Cardinal
(summary)
In the following essay, Lucow examines the concept of honor in The Lady of Pleasure and The Cardinal.
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The Politics of Allusion: The Gentry and Shirley's The Triumph of Peace
(summary)
In the following essay, Venuti examines allusions to Charles I's ban prohibiting the gentry from living in London in The Triumph of Peace.
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James Shirley: Decadent or Realist?
(summary)
In the following essay, Spinrad argues that Shirley was not merely an imitator of well-established Elizabethan and Jacobean dramatic conventions.
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Shirley's Social Comedy of Adaptation to Degree
(summary)
In the following essay, Clark argues that Shirley's plays reinforce aristocratic values.
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‘This Sight Doth Shake All That Is Man within Me’: Sexual Violation and the Rhetoric of Dissent in The Cardinal.
(summary)
In the following essay, Burks discusses the political implications of sexual violence in The Cardinal. When it was performed in the winter of 1641, The Cardinal, James Shirley's play about a weak king manipulated by a malicious prelate, entered into a fierce debate about the power wielded by the Anglican prelacy in both church and state. Shirley's play represents the Cardinal's abuse of power through the rape and murder of his ward, the Duchess Rosaura. Rape and murder, used in the play as sensational shorthand to protest the abuses of this theatrical villain, are not merely the standard fare of tragic drama but also important elements of the political rhetoric of dissent in use among the religious reformers who sought to unseat the bishops of the Anglican Church. This article considers the play within its historical moment in the hope not only that its historical context will help us understand the play but with the conviction that the play itself can help us understand history. When I argue that Shirley's staging of sexual violence contributed to the political discourse of the nation, I have two goals in mind: to illuminate a neglected aspect of seventeenth-century political rhetoric and to call attention to the complicated political dimensions of erotic representation.
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Thou Flattering World, Farewell!
(summary)
In the essay below, Robins provides an overview of Shirley's life and literary career.
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The Decadence of Revenge Tragedy
(summary)
- Further Reading