Pulpit, Playhouse and Page: William Green on Measure for Measure

William Green ‘Printed News and the Public Sphere: How Thomas Middleton Rewrote Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure’

Thursday 15^th October, 3 BST (via Zoom),

In Scene 1.2 of Measure for Measure, the character of Lucio makes the observation that “If the Duke with the other dukes come not to composition with the King of Hungary, why then, all the dukes fall upon (i.e. attack) the King.” Stylistic analysis has persuasively demonstrated that the text of the play as it survives, first published in the First Folio in 1623, has been substantially reshaped by Thomas Middleton, but this line narrows down the date of this reshaping considerably. Indeed, Lucio is specifically commenting on information first provided in a news-sheet or ‘coranto’ which was published by Nathaniel Butter on 6 October 1621 (STC 18507.32), wherein was detailed negotiations for a treaty of peace between the warring states of Hungary and Austria during the early years of the Thirty Years War (1618-48). This seminar will discuss how Middleton’s engagement with this coranto allowed him to redefine the political resonance of Measure for Measure as a vehicle for the popularisation of seditious topical commentary, principally designed to inflame the ire of his Protestant, pro-war spectators. 

To join, please email pulpitandplayhouse@sheffield.ac.uk