Woodstock : study of an Elizabethan history play

Nolan, Michael Francis (1986) Woodstock : study of an Elizabethan history play. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

Woodstock scholarship is, in its present state, unsystematic. The most substantial recent work is forty years old and however admirable are the qualities of A.P. Rossiter's edition, its pronouncements cannot now be considered as conclusive. Newer scholarship modifies or extends many of the older views. Yet because this scholarship consists of individual pieces or notes scattered throughout four decades of journals, Rossiter's edition remains, for most scholars, the undoubted authority. The lack of comprehensive up-to-date scholarship cannot but be prejudicial to a true consideration of the worth of the play. -- This thesis attempts to gather and examine all existing scholarship on Woodstock and augment it with original work. For convenience, the thesis is divided into two sections. The first deals with the most common topics of concern for scholars, most of these being peripheral to an examination of the intrinsic merits of the play. The topics consist of the dating, historical sources and literary relationships of the play. The second part examines the internal workings of Woodstock, centering around its political designs. The politics of Woodstock is its most important aspect and this section details the Morality influences on the play, the political shapings of the imagery, and the significance of the political stand of Woodstock. -- Woodstock deserves greater attention than it has received. It is a play of artistic integrity and has important connections with Shakespeare and the development of the Elizabethan history play. Its neglect is due rather to circumstance than any artistic weaknesses. This thesis, at least in part, rectifies the imbalance between critical study and the merits of the play.

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