Shakespearean actor who made his career on the public stage, whose sex life was known and discussed in Britain, America and France, Edmund Kean has inspired numerous writings, many biographies among them. But until now, no work has tackled the complicated and fascinating story of his literary appropriation, both in his own day and after his death. Dealing with the way a variety of canonical authors - including Byron, Coleridge, Keats, Dumas, Twain and Sartre - appropriated Kean through the centuries, The Cult of Kean traces a remarkable literary legacy. In each chapter, Jeffrey Kahan discusses how many of history's greatest figures viewed Kean, and how these figures examined and discussed themselves in relation to-or projected themselves onto - a variety of constructions of the great actor. Kahan first explores the rise of Kean in light of rising democratic sympathies, then in light of Kean's equally autocratic dealings with playwrights, among them John Keats.

The Cult of Kean

Kahan, Jeffrey

Literature & Fiction

Ashgate Pub. Co

The Poetry of W.h. Ireland 1801-1815: Including the Poet's Imitations, Satires, Romantic Verses, and Commentaries on Coleridge, Wordsworth, Southey, and Others (Studies in British Literature)

Ireland, W. H.

Humor & Satire

Edwin Mellen Pr

The comic-spawned Spider-Man franchise, despite its “pop” status, demonstrates important trends in literature. It raises numerous key questions for developing a better understanding of literary elements and devices. How, for example, do writers involved with the franchise reconcile divergent plotlines and characterizations that appear in multiple serials, and in a number of concurrent depictions of the hero in comic series, television series and films? Readers may be surprised to realize that Shakespeare grappled with similar topics in his Henry VI series, and, for instance, in the character Falstaff’s reemergence from death in The Merry Wives of Windsor. This textbook inspires a greater appreciation for literature by studying important literary themes found in comics. By deconstructing comics, it raises critical thinking about literature, a crucial skill for understanding language and composition. Chapters discuss DC, Marvel and other comics’ varied attempts at portraying race, politics, economics, business ethics and democracy; responses to the Cold War and the events of September 11; and portrayals of prisons and capital punishment. Each chapter offers a series of questions that stimulate further reading, writing and discussion. Photographs are included as well.

Caped Crusaders 101: Composition Through Comic Books

Comics & Graphic Novels

STEWART, Stanley

Graphic Novels

McFarland Publishing

This updated and expanded textbook inspires a greater appreciation for literature by studying important literary themes found in comics. By deconstructing comics, it raises critical thinking about literature, a crucial skill for understanding language and composition. Chapters discuss DC, Marvel and other comics' varied attempts at portraying race, politics, economics, business ethics and democracy; responses to the Cold War and the events of September 11; and portrayals of prisons and capital punishment. New to this edition, an additional chapter explores how the deaths of Captain America, Superman and Batman offer insightful commentary on the nature of heroism. Each chapter offers a series of questions that stimulate further reading, writing and discussion.

Caped Crusaders 101: Composition Through Comic Books, 2d ed.

Manga

McFarland Company

Reforging Shakespeare: The Story of a Theatrical Scandal

History & Criticism

Lehigh Univ Pr

In 1804, a kind of madness descended upon Britain. A thirteen-year-old boy, William-Henry West Betty, arrived and, in a seeming instant, took Ireland, Scotland, and England by storm. Crowds were so intent upon securing tickets for Betty's performances that officers were called out to stop rioters in the streets. Like the groupies who would a century and a half later mob Elvis or The Beatles, fans raved and regularly fainted when near "the divine Master Betty." The Caledonian Mercury reported that on Betty's first London appearance, the "screams of the females were very distressing, and several fainted away." The Morning Chronicle reported that during a performance of Betty's Romeo, "nearly thirty persons were pulled from the pit, in fainting fits." Even older, sophisticated men were strangely overcome by emotion by "Bettymania." When watching the boy perform, Drury Lane's manager R. B. Sheridan shed sighs, tears, and sobs; a similarly affected William Pitt, the Prime Minister of England, wept openly and uncontrollably.Professor Kahan's study is the first to link Bettymania to nineteenth-century consumerism: to point out that marketings of Bettymania in Ireland and Scotland differed radically; to argue that English Bettymania was a splintered rebuke of both King George III and Napoleon, to suggest that interest in Betty reflected the unique gender dynamics of early nineteenth-century Britain; to include a discussion of Betty's standing among the major Romantic poets; to survey Betty's later life; to detail the theatrical career of Betty's son, Henry Betty.Percy H. Fitzgerald, in his conversations with various members of The Garrick Club, recorded that the "Young Roscius was the only actor who ever knew exactly when to quit the stage." The truth is that Betty continued to play until virtually no audience in Britain remained interested in seeing him. However, the disintegration of Betty's popularity was not a sign of celebrity culture's failure but of its appropriate function. One idol must be replaced with another and another and another and another. A study of Bettymania may well offer us some insight into the emergence of celebrity culture and the means by which it continues to be fashioned and maintained.

Bettymania and the Birth of Celebrity Culture

Biographies & Memoirs

Arts & Literature

Review\n“Why We Need Superheroes is a welcome contribution to contemporary popular culture studies. Elegant, comprehensive and infinitely readable, this is a book for teachers, scholars and anyone who’s ever been curious about the world of superheroes.”―Miranda Corcoran, University College Cork, Ireland\nComic books and superhero stories mirror essential societal values and beliefs. We can be Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, Black Panther or Rocket Raccoon through our everyday choices. We can't fly, fix hyper drives or hear human heartbeats a mile away, but we can think about what Matt Murdock would do in a conflict, how Superman would respond to natural disasters and how Captain America would handle humanitarian crises. This book analyzes the impact of dozens of comics by examining the noble personalities, traits and actions of the main characters. Chapters detail how superheroes, comic books and other pop culture phenomena offer more than pure entertainment, and how we can better model ourselves after our favorite heroes. Through our good deeds, quick thinking and positive choices, we can become more like superheroes than we ever imagined.

Why We Need Superheroes

McFarland

Humor & Entertainment

Lehigh University Press

This short book offers a series of thought experiments and invites Shakespeareans to rediscover the wonders and pleasures of fandom. It does not argue that comic books and movies can or should replace Shakespeare; the goal is to explore the values in both, to think of comics as allusively Shakespearean, telling similar stories, expressing similar concerns, exploring similar values. Shakespeare and Superheroes seeks to re-democratize criticism by encouraging all readers to engage in and to respond to literary arguments using their own common cultural language.

Shakespeare and Superheroes (Recreational Shakespeare)

Arc Humanities Press

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Books by Kahan, Jeffrey