The Irony of Identity: Self and Imagination in the Drama of Christopher Marlowe by Ian McAdam Playing with Desire: Christopher Marlowe and the Art of Tantalization by Fred B. Tromly (review)

Abstract

YES,32, 2002 YES,32, 2002 27I 27I during the I5905 and early I6oos succeeded in 'reintegrating the voice of stage directions into the dramatic text, while still visually and verbally distinguishing it from the voices of the dialogue' (p. 47). The awareness that printed editions would have been available to a wider readership than theatre personnel more than likely worked in favour of a standardization in the typographical layout of this vital aspect of a dramatic text. In the second part of the book, McJannet approaches the challenging questions posed by the verbal features of directions by analysing the use of specific grammatical categories and syntactical structures. She finds striking analogies between page layout and stylistic features. For instance, entry indications differentiate themselves from other directions not only through their peculiar position on the page, but also thanks to their Latinate grammar and syntax; even in entry directions with elaborate specifications, the verb 'enter' almost always occupies the first position. The highlighting on the page of texts-within-the-text such as proclamations and letters by means of a different typeface has a parallel in the highly descriptive tone and anachronistic syntax of directions for dumb shows and other framing devices. Special effects are frequently signalled by the use of noun phrases, whereas routine onstage action is normally indicated by the use of finite verbs: in this regard, McJannet points out that a shift in mood (mainly from indicative to imperative) observed in a number of directions should not be considered incoherent, since it is likely to be the result of ellipsis. The voice of stage directions that emerges from this compelling study leaves us with the impression that Elizabethan, and not exclusively Shakespearean, theatre is more competent and professional than is often conceded. The choice of a relatively small sample of texts covering a wide time span, as well as the concentration on historical plays to the exclusion of other dramatic genres may detract from some of the conclusions drawn by the author: none the less, the book convincingly demonstrates that directions deserve to be treated as a feature of dramatic discourse in their own right, rather than being considered ancillary to the dialogue. UNIVERSITY OF READING MICHELA CALORE The Ironyof Identity. Self and Imaginationin theDrama of Christopher Marlowe. By IAN McADAM. Cranbury, NJ.: University of Delaware Press; London: Associated University Presses. 1999. 283 pp. ?34.50. PlayingwithDesire. Christopher MlarloweandtheArtof Tantalization. By FREDB. TROMLY. Toronto, Buffalo, NY, and London: University of Toronto Press. I999. xi + 238 pp. $5?; ?37-50? Both these books offer a critical look at Marlowe as a writer, examining what are argued to be consistent tendencies and strategies in his work in terms (to a greater or lesser extent) of qualities that might be expected to have been present in the man himself, and they adopt the similar approach of taking the reader through the works sequentially. Ian McAdam takes a liberal-humanist approach in his study of character in Marlowe's plays, using as his starting point the work of the psychoanalytic theorist, Heinz Kohut. He maintains that Marlowe's plays are subversive of ideologies (such as religion) that stand in the way of achieving personal cohesiveness, and suggests that Marlowe's homosexuality was a source of struggle in that it involved potential surrender to another man. McAdam discusses all the plays, devoting a chapter to each, looking at the ways in which the central figures aspire to and fail to achieve a cohesive identity, presenting them in terms of a during the I5905 and early I6oos succeeded in 'reintegrating the voice of stage directions into the dramatic text, while still visually and verbally distinguishing it from the voices of the dialogue' (p. 47). The awareness that printed editions would have been available to a wider readership than theatre personnel more than likely worked in favour of a standardization in the typographical layout of this vital aspect of a dramatic text. In the second part of the book, McJannet approaches the challenging questions posed by the verbal features of directions by analysing the use of specific grammatical categories and syntactical structures. She finds striking analogies between page layout and stylistic features. For instance...