Matthews, Julia (1991) Characterization and structure in the development of Tudor comedy. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

The role of characterization in dramatic structure is assessed by theoretical criteria.
Characters who perform actions necessary for the completion of the narrative sequence are
said to be "bound" to the narrative; those without such obligations are "free". Characters
who maintain a single, constant meaning during the course of a play are said to be "static";
characters who change or develop into new roles are "dynamic". Horatian decorum
demanded that comic characters be static, and the characters of Plautine and Terentian
tradition were almost always bound to narrative intrigue. However, evaluations of six
Tudor comedies show an increasing use of non-classical characterization within the comic
form.
In the early comedies lohan lohan and Roister Doister all characters are bound and
static, yet the impetus to enlarge the role of characterization is evident. The characters of
lohan lohan are expanded from their French source, and Roister Doister includes
extraneous episodes in which Udall displays his braggart hero. Free characters abound in
Misogonus; as well the play brings dynamic characterization into the scope of comedy with
the conversion of its prodigal son.
Free characters offer new possibilities of non-narrative plotting. In comedies of the
1580s favourite traditional characters appear as diversions outside the action, and thematic
arrangements of characters inform the increasingly complex plots. Lyly stresses the
symbolic potential of characters in Endimion, whereas Greene uses dynamic
characterization to heighten the illusion of independent figures in Friar Bacon and Friar
Bungay. Love's Labour's Lost exposes the limitations of comic artifice by pulling the
characters between convention and individualization.
By the end of the sixteenth century free and dynamic characters had become
common, and characterization had established a sizable claim on the design of English
comedy. These developments set the English form apart from its neoclassical counterparts.

Item Type:	Thesis or Dissertation (PhD)
Subjects:	P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN0080 Criticism P Language and Literature > PR English literature
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	English drama -- Early modern and Elizabethan, 1500-1600 -- History and criticism, English drama (Comedy) , English literature -- 16th century -- History and criticism, Characters and characteristics in literature
Official Date:	May 1991
Dates:	Date Event May 1991 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of English and Comparative Literary Studies
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Sponsors:	Overseas Research Students Awards Scheme (ORSAS)
Extent:	253 leaves
Language:	eng

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