RT Book
T1 The drama of the American short story, 1800-1865
A1 Collins, Michael J. 1984-
LA English
PP Ann Arbor
PB University of Michigan Press
YR 2016
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1888872187
AB This book argues that to truly understand the short story form, one must look at how it was shaped by the lively, chaotic, and deeply politicized world of 19th-century transatlantic theater and performance culture. By resurrecting long-neglected theatrical influences on representative works of short fiction, Michael J. Collins demonstrates that it was the unruly culture of the stage that first energized this most significant of American art forms. Whether it was Washington Irving's first job as theater critic, Melville's politically controversial love of British drama, Alcott's thwarted dreams of stage stardom, Poe and Lippard's dramatizations of peculiarly bloodthirsty fraternity hazings, or Hawthorne's fascination with automata, theater was a key imaginative site for the major pioneers of the American short story. The book shows how perspectives from theater studies, anthropology, and performance studies can enrich readings of the short story form. Moving beyond arbitrary distinctions between performance and text, it suggests that this literature had a social life and was engaged with questions of circumatlantic and transnational culture. It suggests that the short story itself was never conceived as a nationalist literary form, but worked by mobilizing cosmopolitan connections and meanings. In so doing, the book resurrects a neglected history of American Federalism and its connections to British literary forms
NO Includes bibliographical references and index
CN PS374.S5
SN 978-0-472-12216-5
SN 0-472-12216-9
K1 1800-1899
K1 National characteristics, American, in literature
K1 Ritual in literature
K1 Theater in literature
K1 Performing arts in literature
K1 Performance in literature
K1 American fiction : 19th century : History and criticism
K1 Short stories, American : History and criticism
K1 Rituel dans la littérature
K1 Théâtre dans la littérature
K1 Arts du spectacle dans la littérature
K1 Rendement au travail dans la littérature
K1 Roman américain - 19e siècle - Histoire et critique
K1 Nouvelles américaines - Histoire et critique
K1 PERFORMING ARTS - Theater - General
K1 American fiction
K1 Literature
K1 Short stories, American
K1 Criticism, interpretation, etc
K1 America : In literature
K1 Amérique - Dans la littérature
K1 America