The rhetoric of rank in early modern drama from 1590 to 1642

dc.contributorAinsworth, David
dc.contributorKaufman, Lucy
dc.contributorMcElroy, Tricia
dc.contributorSmith, Cassie
dc.contributor.advisorDowd, Michelle
dc.contributor.authorSmith, Matthew Burdick
dc.contributor.otherUniversity of Alabama Tuscaloosa
dc.date.accessioned2021-07-07T14:36:41Z
dc.date.available2021-07-07T14:36:41Z
dc.date.issued2021
dc.descriptionElectronic Thesis or Dissertationen_US
dc.description.abstractMy dissertation, “The Rhetoric of Rank in Early Modern Drama from 1590 to 1642,”argues that early modern dramatic works pull from rhetorical theory to shape social status in a period that underwent significant social transformations. Arguing that dramatists use early modern rhetorical manuals to respond to historically specific social tensions, I explore how dramatists use rhetorical figures to comment on social tensions between ranks, define the social role of emergent social roles, and define social values. While I explore the relationship between early modern drama and rhetorical manuals, I situate my analysis alongside the work of social historians to provide a historically situated account. I argue that rhetorical theory plays a central, though underexamined, role in the formation of those emergent social roles—like merchant or factor—and that dramatists dramatize the process of social (trans)formation through rhetorical figures. Furthermore, social formation itself is a process with often contradictory priorities and perspectives, and I show that dramatists use the semantic flexibility of rhetorical figures to support a range of attitudes that are sympathetic, tolerant, or even hostile towards social change, illustrating that social change is not the inevitable product of historical contexts but a process structured in part by rhetoric. My dissertation traces how rhetoric is used to cultivate civic values among ranks with competing interests, a process rife with social tensions that the drama lays bare.en_US
dc.format.extent232 p.
dc.format.mediumelectronic
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.otheru0015_0000001_0003765
dc.identifier.otherSmith_alatus_0004D_14430
dc.identifier.urihttp://ir.ua.edu/handle/123456789/7844
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherUniversity of Alabama Libraries
dc.relation.hasversionborn digital
dc.relation.ispartofThe University of Alabama Electronic Theses and Dissertations
dc.relation.ispartofThe University of Alabama Libraries Digital Collections
dc.rightsAll rights reserved by the author unless otherwise indicated.en_US
dc.subjectEnglish literature
dc.titleThe rhetoric of rank in early modern drama from 1590 to 1642en_US
dc.typethesis
dc.typetext
etdms.degree.departmentUniversity of Alabama. Department of English
etdms.degree.disciplineEnglish
etdms.degree.grantorThe University of Alabama
etdms.degree.leveldoctoral
etdms.degree.namePh.D.
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
file_1.pdf
Size:
1.74 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format