Sandon 7
Sandon Mims
Mr. Benyacko
AICE 12 Literature
April 15, 2013
Annotated Bibliography
Berry, Ralph. "Introducing Thomas Middleton: Ralph Berry tells us more about a remarkable playwright of Shakespeare's period." The English Review 19.4 (2009): 28+.General OneFile. Web. 15 Apr. 2013. http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA196227180&v=2.1&u=sain85351&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w Ralph Berry is an award winning writer with an M. F. A. and Ph. D from the University of Iowa. Since 1985 Berry has been on the faculty of the English department at Florida State University where he specializes in 20th century literature and critical theory. In 2006 he became the chair of the apartment. Berry also served as a publisher of Fiction Collective Two (FC2). In this critical essay Ralph Berry tells more about the not so well known, remarkable playwright of Shakespeare’s period, Thomas Middleton. Berry talks about Middleton’s great ability to collaborate with a variety of other well-known playwrights and discusses the difficulties in distinguishing co-authors while briefly going over several of Middleton’s plays, including “The Changeling”.
After reading this critical essay by Ralph Berry, I can truthfully say that I am a fan of the late great Thomas Middleton. Berry changed my perspective of collaborative writers right from his opening sentence where he states that “Thomas Middleton has always been honored as the author of at least one great play. He now comes into focus as a great collaborator as well as a great writer.” For an
Sandon 8 unknown reason, I associated collaborative writing with an easier form of play writing, as opposed to individual writing. However after reading this essay by Berry, I understand the talent it takes to successfully collaborate with not only one, but several authors for years on end. T.S. Eliot himself once stated that “Of all the Elizabethan dramatists, Middleton seems the most impersonal, the most indifferent to fame and perpetuity, the readiest, except perhaps Rowley, to accept collaboration”. Middleton blended well with co-workers, and it is for that reason that it is very difficult to detect the personality behind his writing. Berry goes on to explain that Middleton made a huge gain from these linguistic techniques. A frequent collaborator, William Rowley co-authored 6 plays with Middleton, including the tragedy that Middleton’s fame chiefly rests, “The Changeling”. In this play, Middleton wrote the main plot, while Rowley wrote the subplot. For centuries the subplot has been looked upon negatively, while the plot (written by Middleton) is a considered a classic playwright. I agree with Berry when he states that “Middleton’s language is spare, taut, owing very little to metaphor and imagery. He loves to exploit the double meanings of blood (vital fluid, and the source of emotion, especially sexual) will 9intention, carnal appetite), and service (innocent, and sexual: compare Are you being served?) It is the ironic undertone that makes so compelling the words and exchanges of the tragic action.”