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Chapter 6 - Emotion

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 January 2020

David Wiles
Affiliation:
University of Exeter
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Summary

Pre-modern acting theory was framed around emotion, not character, and in this chapter I explore what ‘emotion’ is. There is growing recognition today that emotions have a history, and neurology has suggested new ways of thinking about the mind–body connection. The assumption that humankind has distinct fundamental emotions remains a widely held position today. Passions and emotions: the question of terminology: in addition to the distinction between passions and emotions, I interrogate notions of mind and soul, complicated by questions of translation. Early Modern England: Hamlet seen through the lens of the contemporary Jesuit Thomas Wright, who negotiated competing theories of emotion. The Cartesian turn: I consider Mondory as a pre-Cartesian actor, and the fundamental influence of Charles Le Brun on acting as well as paining. David Hume and English acting theory in the Enlightenment: the multiplication and refinement of emotions as reflected in the theories of Aaron Hill. Two examples of playing the passions: Lekain’s Herod and Nossiter’s Juliet: I draw on Lekain’s manuscript notes and on Morgan’s account of Nossiter’s performance. Rousseau and the ideal of emotional authenticity: Rousseau’s Pygmalion attempted to reconcile the needs of rhetorical delivery with a new sense of emotional truth.

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The Players' Advice to Hamlet
The Rhetorical Acting Method from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment
, pp. 178 - 218
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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  • Emotion
  • David Wiles, University of Exeter
  • Book: The Players' Advice to Hamlet
  • Online publication: 16 January 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108689502.007
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  • Emotion
  • David Wiles, University of Exeter
  • Book: The Players' Advice to Hamlet
  • Online publication: 16 January 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108689502.007
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Emotion
  • David Wiles, University of Exeter
  • Book: The Players' Advice to Hamlet
  • Online publication: 16 January 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108689502.007
Available formats
×