Annotated Bibliography: When Characters Become Places

The Liminal Space Where Identity is Lost

The lack of distinguishable characters in the background of Shakespeare's plays has often been criticized, but is actually a vital plot device for blurring the lines between romantic ideals and reality, thus creating a liminal space for unlikely situations to happen. 

1. Duncan, H. L. ""Here at the Fringe of the Forest": Staging Sacred Space in As You Like It." Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies (2013): 121-44. Journal of Medieval and Modern Studies. Duke University Press. Web. 1 Dec. 2015. <http://jmems.dukejournals.org/content/43/1/121> 

This article will be helpful because it examines in detail the setting of As You Like It, and asserts that the forest of Arden is actually a sacred space, or basically a place where magical things happen. I have a similar idea, but I'm focusing on how using the characters as the setting creates a magical place. This text talks specifically about this play, but I can apply the principles as a lens to my other plays. 

2. Daley, A. Stuart. "Where Are the Woods In As You Like It?" Shakespeare Quarterly 34.2 (1983): 172. JSTOR. Shakespeare Quarterly. Web. 1 Dec. 2015. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/2869832?origin=crossref&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents>

Now this is a very interesting article because there's this idea that few of the productions of As You Like It have been accurate in their setting, and according to the author this changes the play. However, I'd actually like to refute that the setting and the background characters are only important in how they frame the plot. They, in and of themselves, are not important, but rather the way that they make it possible for ridiculous things to happen. 

3. Daley, A. Stuart. "The Dispraise of the Country In "As You Like It"" Shakespeare Quarterly 36.3 (1985): 300. JSTOR. Shakespeare Quarterly. Web. 1 Dec. 2015. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/2869710?origin=crossref&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents>

This is even more interesting than the last article because this author believes that people are misreading this play and that it actually isn't praising the country at all. I think he could technically be right, but I'm more interested in his analysis and observation of the reasons we see idealism in the pastoral setting rather than his interpretation of what Shakespeare meant by that. 

4. Bach, Rebecca Ann. "The Animal Continuum in A Midsummer Night's Dream." Textual Practice (2010): 123-47. Taylor & Francis Online. Textual Practice. Web. 1 Dec. 2015. <http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09502360903471714> 

I want to talk about A Midsummer Night's Dream in my paper, with all of the different spaces where the play takes place, and I want to talk about the fairies in particular. And the mechanicals. This text deals with nonhumans though. The fairies are virtually indistinguishable from each other, and they represent the loss of humanity. So I'm working that in. 

5. Lamb, Mary Ellen. "Taken by the Fairies: Fairy Practices and the Production of Popular Culture in A Midsummer Night's Dream." Shakespeare Quarterly 51.3 (2000): 277. JSTOR. Shakespeare Quarterly. Web. 1 Dec. 2015. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/2902152?origin=crossref&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents> 

Just another article on the fairies. I haven't yet decided which one is the most useful, but I won't use both. 

6. Dent, R. W. "Imagination in A Midsummer Night's Dream." Shakespeare Quarterly 15.2 (1964): 115. JSTOR. Shakespeare Quarterly. Web. 1 Dec. 2015. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/2867882?origin=crossref&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents>

I want to analyze the ways in which we suspend disbelief depending on where the story is, and I think this might help. I want to point out that we don't believe that fairies exist in the same world as Theseus, but when the lovers venture away from civilization, we do.