Patriotism and Charles Kean: Henry V in 1859

Marshall talks about his concern with the context in which Charles Kean produced his Henry V, about the 'theatre of war' that he created, about war heroes and the conjunction of war and patriotism, about the theater's particular contribution to the engendering of patriotism in that be...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nineteenth century theatre and film 2009-06, Vol.36 (1), p.61-72
Main Author: Marshall, Gail
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Kean, Charles
Middle class
Patriotism
Popularity
Theater
Theater criticism
Theatre
Victorian period
War
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Summary:Marshall talks about his concern with the context in which Charles Kean produced his Henry V, about the 'theatre of war' that he created, about war heroes and the conjunction of war and patriotism, about the theater's particular contribution to the engendering of patriotism in that belligerent year, and how firmly theater and war came to be linked in the many tributes paid both to this production, and to the entirety of Kean's career, which was lavishly celebrated in a retirement banquet organized by some of his fellow Old Etonians in 1859. Here, he shows his indebtedness to the work of Richard Schoch, who has written so well of Henry V in his Shakespeare's Victorian Stage: Performing History in the Theatre of Charles Kean. In his book, he writes of 'cultural aversions to warfare' and of a 'public distaste for military action in the years immediately following the Crimean War.'
ISSN:1748-3727
2048-2906
DOI:10.7227/NCTF.36.1.6