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- Title
"What's Hecuba to him?": Grieving Parents On and Off the Early Modern Stage.
- Authors
Loomis, Catherine
- Abstract
Among those affected by the very high infant mortality rates in early modern London were members of William Shakespeare's acting company. During Shakespeare's time as a playwright and actor, members of his company lost more than a third of their children in infancy or childhood. Shakespeare's plays often refer to or feature children who are, or who are presumed to be, dead or dying. His actors performed losses they and many members of their audience had actually experienced. The communal nature of playgoing and Shakespeare's expansive empathy enabled the theater to teach its practitioners and audience how to grieve.
- Subjects
SHAKESPEARE, William, 1564-1616; INFANT mortality; DEATH rate; INFANTS; AUDIENCES; THEATRICAL companies; THEATER audiences
- Publication
Quidditas, 2021, Vol 42, p205
- ISSN
1544-9971
- Publication type
Article