Metatheater: The Example of Shakespeare

Arguing against the notion that theatrical success depends upon a spectator's suspension of disbelief, this study emphasizes the audience's recognition of theatre as theatre, of rhetorical categories, and of the by-play between mimetic representation and explicit artistic conventions. It discusses the shifts between stage action and appeals to the audience to gauge the relative distances of actor and spectator (King Lear, for example, begins as the master of all around him but ends as a helpless witness, moving steadily toward the audience with enormous dramatic effect). Treating six plays - "Much Ado About Nothing", "Twelfth Night", "Measure for Measure", "Othello", "Hamlet" and "The Winter's Tale" - and referring to many others, it takes advantage of Shakespeare's diversity to elucidate fundamental questions about how theatre elicits effects.