A study on Shakespeare’s verse in its historical context (Marina Tarlinskaja, Shakespeare and the Versification of English Drama, 1561–1642, Ashgate, 2014)

Abstract

Marina Tarlinskaja's new book about English verse culture is a remarkable study. As typical of Tarlinskaja's monographs, it is substantial 411 + XI pages with a very densely typeset text. Th e book includes a considerable amount of statistical data which are valuable not only for this book, but also to future researchers. Th e book consists of six chapters. Th e fi rst, "Why Study Versifi cation? Versifi cation Analysis; Tests" is an introduction to the theme and includes the description of methodological basis (pp. 1-32). Th e second chapter, "How It All Began: From Surrey's Aeneid to Marlowe's Tamburlaine" (pp. 33-68), gives an overview of the historical prosody of English verse in the 16th and 17th centuries. Th e particular focus of this chapter is on the stressing of disyllabic words in New Modern English. Th e third chapter, "Early Elizabethan Playwrights: Kyd, Marlowe, Green, Peele, Early Shakespeare. 2, 3 Henry VI and Arden of Faversham" (pp. 69-122), analyses the rhythm of Shakespeare's older contemporaries in comparison with young Shakespeare, with special attention to Marlowe. Th e fourth chapter is titled "Shakespeare's Versifi cation: Evolution, Co-authored Plays. Th e Poem A Lover's Complaint" (pp. 123-199). In this chapter the prosody and evolution of Shakespeare's verse is studied, as well as his collaboration with other authors. Shakespeare's authorship of the poem A Love's Complaint is contested. Th e fi ft h chapter, "Jacobean and Caroline Playwrights: From Shakespeare to Shirley" (pp. 193-256), focuses on the later years of Shakespeare in comparison with his younger contemporaries. Th e sixth chapter summarises the book and carries the title "Conclusions: Shakespeare and Versifi cation, 1540s-1640s" (pp. 257-286).