The Pattern of Parody in Eastward Ho, and a New Date for King Lear

Gary Taylor's 1982 Review of English Studies article, 'A New Source and an Old Date for King Lear', highlights numerous semantic, thematic and structural parallels between Shakespeare's King Lear, customarily assigned a composition date in late 1605 or spring 1606, and Eastward H...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Critical survey (Oxford, England) England), 2014-05, Vol.26 (2), p.21-52
Main Authors: Stritmatter, Roger, Kositsky, Lynne
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
British & Irish literature
British literature
Criticism and interpretation
Drama
Eclipses
English language
English literature
Jacobean era
Literary themes
Narrative plot
Parody
Satire
Semantics
Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)
Theater
Theater criticism
Written composition
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Summary:Gary Taylor's 1982 Review of English Studies article, 'A New Source and an Old Date for King Lear', highlights numerous semantic, thematic and structural parallels between Shakespeare's King Lear, customarily assigned a composition date in late 1605 or spring 1606, and Eastward Ho (first published September 1605). Deconstructing Taylor's methodology for determining the order of influence between the two plays, we argue that the authors of Eastward Ho found the bard's cosmic tragedy of royal intrigue and intergenerational strife an irresistible target for rambunctious topical satire. In place of a Lear that without motive incorporates vague patches of Eastward Ho influence, we read an Eastward Ho that enacts an acerbically brilliant parody of several Shakespeare plays, among them King Lear.
ISSN:0011-1570
1752-2293
DOI:10.3167/cs.2014.260202