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- Title
King-Commoner Encounters in the Popular Ballad, Elizabethan Drama, and Shakespeare.
- Authors
SMITH, ROCHELLE
- Abstract
The article examines the pastoral theme of chance encounters between king and commoner in early modern balladry. The author explains how the king-commoner motif was used in British drama at the end of the 16th century. The use of the motif in three plays by dramatist William Shakespeare is addressed. The author talks about how these ballads presented a commoner's perspective that contrasted with the aristocratic tone of the literary pastoral tradition. The rural environment that kings encountered in these ballads is explored. The article also discusses how Shakespeare's version of the pastoral can be seen as a part of a greater popular tradition that satirizes and subverts conventional assumptions about social class distinctions.
- Subjects
ENGLAND; UNITED Kingdom; ENGLISH pastoral drama; SOCIAL classes in literature; KINGS &; rulers in literature; SHAKESPEARE, William, 1564-1616 -- Characters -- Kings &; rulers; ENGLISH ballads; ENGLISH music; MUSIC history
- Publication
SEL: Studies in English Literature (Johns Hopkins), 2010, Vol 50, Issue 2, p301
- ISSN
0039-3657
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1353/sel.0.0097