Shorland, Sophie (2019) ‘Blazing stars’: early modern celebrity culture, 1580-1626. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

What do a duelling crossdresser, a chicken, and an out-of-work clown who liked to gamble on himself have in common? They were, I will argue, all part of a constellation of early modern celebrities, sharing certain elements of celebrity culture. While each celebrity had a different persona, they shared appellations – like the term ‘blazing star’ – and at one stage or another, they were some variation of the talk of the town or in the ‘common report’ of the world. This thesis looks at celebrity across early modern literature and culture, and the different forms of media that helped transmit it, including gossip, playtexts, and chapbooks. Exploring celebrity as a social phenomenon transmitted by different media, this thesis will investigate how early modern audiences created and interacted with celebrities. Audience value for celebrities is expressed through narrative but also through money, betting on celebrities or paying for products associated with them. When the celebrity is monetised through gambling, social capital directly converts to economic capital, suggesting intense social connections between early modern fans and celebrities. Audiences alternatively used celebrities’ personas to assert status, seek allies and experience emotion. Celebrity was an important facet of identity creation in early modern culture, something literary texts such as The Roaring Girl (ca.1607-10) and Astrophil and Stella (1591) are occupied with trying to understand.

Item Type:	Thesis or Dissertation (PhD)
Subjects:	C Auxiliary Sciences of History > CT Biography H Social Sciences > HM Sociology P Language and Literature > PR English literature
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Celebrities -- History -- Early modern, 1500-1700, Fame -- History -- Early modern, 1500-1700, Celebrities -- Social life and customs -- Early modern, 1500-1700
Official Date:	September 2019
Dates:	Date Event September 2019 UNSPECIFIED
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of English and Comparative Literary Studies
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Purcell, Stephen, 1981-
Sponsors:	University of Warwick. Centre for Arts Doctoral Research Excellence
Format of File:	pdf
Extent:	5-234 leaves : illustrations
Language:	eng

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