This thesis attempts to resuscitate the use of the much-disparaged term "problem plays" to describe Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida, All's Well That Ends Well, and Measure for Measure; three works which, I argue, share a strong and unifying thematic interest in the vexed relationship between individual sexual desire and social cohesion. Although each of these plays offers a unique perspective on this conflicted interaction, I attempt to demonstrate through close readings of each work that the broad trajectory traced by the problem plays is a movement from the festive comedies' idealistic faith in the possibilities of both romantic and generic "happy endings," to the bleak cynicism which characterizes the great tragedies' depictions of sexual relationships and social structures. Finally, I point to the romances, particularly The Winter's Tale, which, I argue, rework the problem plays' interest in sexuality and social order in such a way that the growing pessimism and inconclusiveness of these earlier works is transformed into aesthetically balanced narratives of romantic reconciliation and social integration.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.27941 |
| Date | January 1997 |
| Creators | Fagan, Dianne. |
| Contributors | Bristol, Michael D. (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Arts (Department of English.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001618600, proquestno: MQ37204, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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