Shakespeare's festive comedy

By C. L. Barber

Subjects: England, social life and customs, History, Festivals in literature, English drama (Comedy), Comedies, Literary form, English drama, history and criticism, History and criticism, Shakespeare, william, 1564-1616, comedies, Literature and society, Social life and customs, Manners and customs, Humorous plays, Manners and customs in literature, Komödie

Description: In this classic work, acclaimed Shakespeare critic C.L. Barber argues that Elizabethan seasonal festivals such as May Day and Twelfth Night are the key to understanding Shakespeare's comedies. Brilliantly interweaving anthropology, social history, and literary criticism, Barber traces the inward journey--psychological, bodily, spiritual--of the comedies: from confusion, raucous laughter, aching desire, and aggression, to harmony. Revealing the interplay between social custom and dramatic form, the book shows how the Elizabethan antithesis between everyday and holiday comes to life in the comedies' combination of seriousness and levity.