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The Acoustic World of Early Modern England: Attending to the O-Factor
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Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
Author: Bruce R. Smith
Publisher: University Of Chicago Press
Average Customer Rating:
Our Price: $31.00
You Save: $ ( % )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
Author: Bruce R. Smith
Publisher: University Of Chicago Press
Average Customer Rating:
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The Acoustic World of Early Modern England: Attending to the O-Factor Description
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 820.9003
EAN: 9780226763774
ISBN: 0226763773
Label: University Of Chicago Press
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 400
Publication Date: 1999-04-15
Publisher: University Of Chicago Press
Studio: University Of Chicago Press
Dewey Decimal Number: 820.9003
EAN: 9780226763774
ISBN: 0226763773
Label: University Of Chicago Press
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 400
Publication Date: 1999-04-15
Publisher: University Of Chicago Press
Studio: University Of Chicago Press
Editorial Review of The Acoustic World of Early Modern England: Attending to the O-Factor
We know how a Shakespeare play sounds when performed today, but what would listeners have heard within the wooden "O" of the Globe Theater in 1599? What sounds would have filled the air in early modern England, and what would these sounds have meant to people in that largely oral culture?
In this ear-opening journey into the sound-worlds of Shakespeare's contemporaries, Bruce R. Smith explores both the physical aspects of human speech (ears, lungs, tongue) and the surrounding environment (buildings, landscape, climate), as well as social and political structures. Drawing on a staggeringly wide range of evidence, he crafts a historical phenomenology of sound, from reconstructions of the "soundscapes" of city, country, and court to detailed accounts of the acoustic properties of the Globe and Blackfriars theaters and how scripts designed for the two spaces exploited sound very differently.
Critical for anyone who wants to understand the world of early modern England, Smith's pathbreaking "ecology" of voice and listening also has much to offer musicologists and acoustic ecologists.
In this ear-opening journey into the sound-worlds of Shakespeare's contemporaries, Bruce R. Smith explores both the physical aspects of human speech (ears, lungs, tongue) and the surrounding environment (buildings, landscape, climate), as well as social and political structures. Drawing on a staggeringly wide range of evidence, he crafts a historical phenomenology of sound, from reconstructions of the "soundscapes" of city, country, and court to detailed accounts of the acoustic properties of the Globe and Blackfriars theaters and how scripts designed for the two spaces exploited sound very differently.
Critical for anyone who wants to understand the world of early modern England, Smith's pathbreaking "ecology" of voice and listening also has much to offer musicologists and acoustic ecologists.
Customer Reviews of The Acoustic World of Early Modern England: Attending to the O-Factor
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: how did the plays and ballads sound?
Review: Smith has resurrected for the reader many of the ballads of Middle English [ie. around Shakespeare's time]. Many of these are easily comprehended by the modern reader. Even if you haven't read Shakespeare or Milton lately, the meanings of the ballads comes through very clearly.
But, as the title indicates, he also pays close attention to the acoustics. These refer to the physical environments in which the ballads and plays might and probably were read. Including naturally the immortal Globe Theatre in London. So we see the floor plan of the Globe, and speculation as to how this would have affected the listening experience of the audience. The reader should remember that back then, there were no modern special effects. So the pure performance visuals and acoustics were probably more important and stressed, for what else did they have?
Review Summary: how did the plays and ballads sound?
Review: Smith has resurrected for the reader many of the ballads of Middle English [ie. around Shakespeare's time]. Many of these are easily comprehended by the modern reader. Even if you haven't read Shakespeare or Milton lately, the meanings of the ballads comes through very clearly.
But, as the title indicates, he also pays close attention to the acoustics. These refer to the physical environments in which the ballads and plays might and probably were read. Including naturally the immortal Globe Theatre in London. So we see the floor plan of the Globe, and speculation as to how this would have affected the listening experience of the audience. The reader should remember that back then, there were no modern special effects. So the pure performance visuals and acoustics were probably more important and stressed, for what else did they have?