David Bevington
Encyclopedia
David Martin Bevington is an American literary scholar. He is Professor Emeritus in the Humanities
and in English Language & Literature
, Comparative Literature
, and the College at the University of Chicago
, where he has taught since 1967, as well as chair of Theatre and Performance Studies. "One of the most learned and devoted of Shakespeareans," so called by Harold Bloom
, he specializes in British drama
of the Renaissance
, and has edited and introduced the complete works of William Shakespeare
in both the 29-volume, Bantam
Classics paperback editions and the single-volume Longman
edition. He also edits the Norton Anthology of Renaissance Drama, an important anthology of Medieval English Drama, as well as a forthcoming edition of the complete works of Ben Jonson
, due out ostensibly on Feb. 29, 2012, but conceivably as late as June of that year. Bevington's editorial scholarship is so extensive that Richard Strier, an early modern
colleague at the University of Chicago, was moved to comment: "Every time I turn around, he has edited a new Renaissance text. Bevington has endless energy for editorial projects." In addition to his work as an editor
, he has published studies of Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe
, and the Stuart Court
Masque
, among others, though it is for his work as an editor that he is primarily known.
Despite his formal retirement, Bevington continues to teach and publish. Most recently he authored Shakespeare and Biography, a study of the history of Shakespearean biography and of such biographers, as well as Murder Most Foul: Hamlet Through the Ages.
, and from age eleven, North Carolina
. After attending Phillips Exeter Academy
from 1945-8, before it was co-educational, he graduated from Harvard University
cum laude in 1952, before entering the navy that year, and becoming a lieutenant junior grade before his leaving in 1955. He saw much of the Mediterranean, though neither Israel
nor Turkey
. Upon his return to Harvard, he pursued an M.A. and Ph.D., receiving them respectively in 1957 and 1959. Surprisingly, he was well into the graduate process before settling on the Renaissance
; he had intended to study the Victorian until a Shakespeare seminar convinced him otherwise.
, then Associate Professor in 1964, and Professor in 1966. In 1967, he was a visiting Professor at the University of Chicago for a year, and joined the faculty as Professor in 1968. In 1985 he was appointed to the Phyllis Fay Horton distinguished service professorship in the humanities, a post he has held continuously since that time.
In 1963, he served as visiting professor at New York University's summer school; in 1967, he again filled that capacity at Harvard's summer school, served as such at the University of Hawaii in 1970, and a final time in 1974 at Northwestern University.
In 1979, Bevington was honored with the Llewellyn John and Harriet Manchester Quantrell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. The Quantrell Award, for which students of the college nominate their instructors, is considered among the highest accolades the University of Chicago confers, and the most treasured by the faculty.
Bevington served as senior consultant and seminar leader at the Folger Institute in Renaissance
and 18th-century Studies from 1976–77 and 1987-88. He has had two Guggenheim fellowship
s, first in 1964-65, and again in 1981-82. He was a senior fellow at the Southeastern Institute of Medieval and Renaissance Studies during the summer of 1975. He was appointed the 2006-2007 Lund-Gill Chair in Rosary College of Arts and Sciences at Dominican University
in River Forest, Illinois
.
Bevington devotes Autumn and Winter quarters to a two-part History and Theory of Drama sequence. Until recently, this was co-taught with actor/translator Nicholas Rudall
. It is now co-taught with Drew Dir, dramaturge for the resident Court Theatre (Part 1), and Heidi Coleman, who is Director of University Theatre, Director of Undergraduate Studies in Theater and Performance Studies and a senior lecturer in Theater and Performance Studies at the University of Chicago (Part 2). The first quarter spans drama from Greek tragedy and comedy, to Shakespeare (or rather, to the Renaissance). The second quarter begins with Ibsen's A Doll's House
and ends with the postmodern, including Beckett's
Endgame
and the work of Pinter
and Caryl Churchill. For midterms and finals, students either write a paper critically analyzing a single play, or else perform scenes from plays relevant to the course, though not necessarily those read in class. Bevington requires, from those opting to perform, a reflection paper analyzing the challenges of staging the scene.
Bevington has also taught Shakespeare: Histories and Comedies, surveying such plays as Richard II
, Richard III
, Henry IV, Part 1
, Henry V
, Much Ado About Nothing
, A Midsummer Night's Dream
, Twelfth Night, and Measure for Measure
, though Bradin Cormack, a younger early modern colleague at the University of Chicago, has taught the course recently. He also previously taught "Shakespeare: Tragedies and Romances," but that course is now taught by his colleague, Richard Strier. He usually spends Spring Quarter with B.A. theses he is advising, and the corresponding students, or else travelling. However, he has been known to sign up for introductory-level courses in subjects vastly different from his own (such as Greek, or the Natural Sciences).
When possible, Bevington opts to teach class in the large Edward M. Sills Seminar Room, which features a large, oval table accommodating several dozen, rather than in a more traditional classroom in which all the students might face a lectern. He feels this format fosters greater participation and discussion among students, and goes out of his way to encourage the sharing of ideas and opinions. However, because so many students elect to take his popular classes, the room at times becomes overfull.
He has taught a number of other courses:
in 1985, and a member of the American Philosophical Society in 1986.
He belongs to a number of academic organizations:
. Many students fondly recall discussing such things as the feminist
implications of Measure for Measure over melba toast and coffee. They have four children: Stephen Raymond, Philip Landon, Katharine Helen, and Sarah Amelia. Bevington self-identifies as both a Democrat
and "lapsed Episcopalian
." Bevington's adamant support for exercise is demonstrated in his use of the bicycle as a means of transportation, and when that is made impossible by snow or rain, in his insistence on walking—not driving—the requisite distance to campus, despite his being among the most senior members of the faculty. He notably also takes public transportation whenever he travels from his Hyde Park
home to downtown Chicago
. Bevington is left-handed and a concert violist
, who continues to perform in various ensembles, including a quartet
involving faculty and students from the university. He enjoys chamber music
and opera, and owns a restored pre-World War I
Steinway
grand piano.
In addition to the many individual volumes listed below, there have been collected anthologies of Shakespeare plays. A few of these Bantam anthologies contain plays that are unavailable from Bantam in their solo form. The anthologies are as follows:
Furthermore, Bantam has published Bevington's edition of Shakespeare's sonnets and other poetry.
Comedies:
Romances:
Histories:
Tragedies:
, that the Bantam series simply couldn't market. Its poetry selection is moreover wider than that of the Bantam series, containing the substantial work outside the sonnets.
Tragedies:
Comedies and Romances:
Histories:
Humanities
The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
and in English Language & Literature
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Comparative Literature
Comparative literature
Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the literature of two or more different linguistic, cultural or national groups...
, and the College at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, where he has taught since 1967, as well as chair of Theatre and Performance Studies. "One of the most learned and devoted of Shakespeareans," so called by Harold Bloom
Harold Bloom
Harold Bloom is an American writer and literary critic, and is Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University. He is known for his defense of 19th-century Romantic poets, his unique and controversial theories of poetic influence, and his prodigious literary output, particularly for a literary...
, he specializes in British drama
English drama
Drama was introduced to England from Europe by the Romans, and auditoriums were constructed across the country for this purpose. By the medieval period, the mummers' plays had developed, a form of early street theatre associated with the Morris dance, concentrating on themes such as Saint George...
of the Renaissance
English Renaissance
The English Renaissance was a cultural and artistic movement in England dating from the late 15th and early 16th centuries to the early 17th century. It is associated with the pan-European Renaissance that is usually regarded as beginning in Italy in the late 14th century; like most of northern...
, and has edited and introduced the complete works of William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
in both the 29-volume, Bantam
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
Classics paperback editions and the single-volume Longman
Longman
Longman was a publishing company founded in London, England in 1724. It is now an imprint of Pearson Education.-Beginnings:The Longman company was founded by Thomas Longman , the son of Ezekiel Longman , a gentleman of Bristol. Thomas was apprenticed in 1716 to John Osborn, a London bookseller, and...
edition. He also edits the Norton Anthology of Renaissance Drama, an important anthology of Medieval English Drama, as well as a forthcoming edition of the complete works of Ben Jonson
Ben Jonson
Benjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...
, due out ostensibly on Feb. 29, 2012, but conceivably as late as June of that year. Bevington's editorial scholarship is so extensive that Richard Strier, an early modern
Early modern period
In history, the early modern period of modern history follows the late Middle Ages. Although the chronological limits of the period are open to debate, the timeframe spans the period after the late portion of the Middle Ages through the beginning of the Age of Revolutions...
colleague at the University of Chicago, was moved to comment: "Every time I turn around, he has edited a new Renaissance text. Bevington has endless energy for editorial projects." In addition to his work as an editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
, he has published studies of Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe was an English dramatist, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. As the foremost Elizabethan tragedian, next to William Shakespeare, he is known for his blank verse, his overreaching protagonists, and his mysterious death.A warrant was issued for Marlowe's arrest on 18 May...
, and the Stuart Court
House of Stuart
The House of Stuart is a European royal house. Founded by Robert II of Scotland, the Stewarts first became monarchs of the Kingdom of Scotland during the late 14th century, and subsequently held the position of the Kings of Great Britain and Ireland...
Masque
Masque
The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment which flourished in 16th and early 17th century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio...
, among others, though it is for his work as an editor that he is primarily known.
Despite his formal retirement, Bevington continues to teach and publish. Most recently he authored Shakespeare and Biography, a study of the history of Shakespearean biography and of such biographers, as well as Murder Most Foul: Hamlet Through the Ages.
Early life and education
David Bevington was born to Merle Mowbray and Helen Bevington née Smith, and grew up in ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, and from age eleven, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. After attending Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy is a private secondary school located in Exeter, New Hampshire, in the United States.Exeter is noted for its application of Harkness education, a system based on a conference format of teacher and student interaction, similar to the Socratic method of learning through asking...
from 1945-8, before it was co-educational, he graduated from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
cum laude in 1952, before entering the navy that year, and becoming a lieutenant junior grade before his leaving in 1955. He saw much of the Mediterranean, though neither Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
nor Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. Upon his return to Harvard, he pursued an M.A. and Ph.D., receiving them respectively in 1957 and 1959. Surprisingly, he was well into the graduate process before settling on the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
; he had intended to study the Victorian until a Shakespeare seminar convinced him otherwise.
Teaching and fellowships
During the doctoral process, he was a teaching fellow at Harvard, and his title changed to instructor when he was granted the final degree, a post he held until 1961, when he became Assistant Professor of English at the University of VirginiaUniversity of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
, then Associate Professor in 1964, and Professor in 1966. In 1967, he was a visiting Professor at the University of Chicago for a year, and joined the faculty as Professor in 1968. In 1985 he was appointed to the Phyllis Fay Horton distinguished service professorship in the humanities, a post he has held continuously since that time.
In 1963, he served as visiting professor at New York University's summer school; in 1967, he again filled that capacity at Harvard's summer school, served as such at the University of Hawaii in 1970, and a final time in 1974 at Northwestern University.
In 1979, Bevington was honored with the Llewellyn John and Harriet Manchester Quantrell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. The Quantrell Award, for which students of the college nominate their instructors, is considered among the highest accolades the University of Chicago confers, and the most treasured by the faculty.
Bevington served as senior consultant and seminar leader at the Folger Institute in Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
and 18th-century Studies from 1976–77 and 1987-88. He has had two Guggenheim fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
s, first in 1964-65, and again in 1981-82. He was a senior fellow at the Southeastern Institute of Medieval and Renaissance Studies during the summer of 1975. He was appointed the 2006-2007 Lund-Gill Chair in Rosary College of Arts and Sciences at Dominican University
Dominican University (Illinois)
Dominican University is a coeducational, comprehensive, Catholic institution of higher education and research in River Forest, Illinois. Affiliated with the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters, it offers bachelor's and master's degrees and certificate programs...
in River Forest, Illinois
River Forest, Illinois
River Forest is a suburban village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Two universities make their home in River Forest, Dominican University and Concordia University Chicago. The village is closely tied to the larger neighboring community of Oak Park, Illinois. There are significant...
.
Bevington devotes Autumn and Winter quarters to a two-part History and Theory of Drama sequence. Until recently, this was co-taught with actor/translator Nicholas Rudall
Nicholas Rudall
D. Nicholas Rudall is Professor of Classical Languages and Literatures, a member of on General Studies in the Humanities and Ancient Mediterranean World, and the College at the University of Chicago, where he has taught since 1966. He specializes in Greek drama, and has translated numerous works...
. It is now co-taught with Drew Dir, dramaturge for the resident Court Theatre (Part 1), and Heidi Coleman, who is Director of University Theatre, Director of Undergraduate Studies in Theater and Performance Studies and a senior lecturer in Theater and Performance Studies at the University of Chicago (Part 2). The first quarter spans drama from Greek tragedy and comedy, to Shakespeare (or rather, to the Renaissance). The second quarter begins with Ibsen's A Doll's House
A Doll's House
A Doll's House is a three-act play in prose by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premièred at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 December 1879, having been published earlier that month....
and ends with the postmodern, including Beckett's
Samuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet. He wrote both in English and French. His work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human nature, often coupled with black comedy and gallows humour.Beckett is widely regarded as among the most...
Endgame
Endgame (play)
Endgame, by Samuel Beckett, is a one-act play with four characters, written in a style associated with the Theatre of the Absurd. It was originally written in French ; as was his custom, Beckett himself translated it into English. The play was first performed in a French-language production at the...
and the work of Pinter
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
and Caryl Churchill. For midterms and finals, students either write a paper critically analyzing a single play, or else perform scenes from plays relevant to the course, though not necessarily those read in class. Bevington requires, from those opting to perform, a reflection paper analyzing the challenges of staging the scene.
Bevington has also taught Shakespeare: Histories and Comedies, surveying such plays as Richard II
Richard II (play)
King Richard the Second is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to be written in approximately 1595. It is based on the life of King Richard II of England and is the first part of a tetralogy, referred to by some scholars as the Henriad, followed by three plays concerning Richard's...
, Richard III
Richard III (play)
Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. It depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified...
, Henry IV, Part 1
Henry IV, Part 1
Henry IV, Part 1 is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597. It is the second play in Shakespeare's tetralogy dealing with the successive reigns of Richard II, Henry IV , and Henry V...
, Henry V
Henry V (play)
Henry V is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to be written in approximately 1599. Its full titles are The Cronicle History of Henry the Fifth and The Life of Henry the Fifth...
, Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....
, A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
, Twelfth Night, and Measure for Measure
Measure for Measure
Measure for Measure is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604. It was classified as comedy, but its mood defies those expectations. As a result and for a variety of reasons, some critics have labelled it as one of Shakespeare's problem plays...
, though Bradin Cormack, a younger early modern colleague at the University of Chicago, has taught the course recently. He also previously taught "Shakespeare: Tragedies and Romances," but that course is now taught by his colleague, Richard Strier. He usually spends Spring Quarter with B.A. theses he is advising, and the corresponding students, or else travelling. However, he has been known to sign up for introductory-level courses in subjects vastly different from his own (such as Greek, or the Natural Sciences).
When possible, Bevington opts to teach class in the large Edward M. Sills Seminar Room, which features a large, oval table accommodating several dozen, rather than in a more traditional classroom in which all the students might face a lectern. He feels this format fosters greater participation and discussion among students, and goes out of his way to encourage the sharing of ideas and opinions. However, because so many students elect to take his popular classes, the room at times becomes overfull.
He has taught a number of other courses:
- Shakespeare at the Opera (with Philip GossettPhilip GossettPhilip Gossett is an American musicologist and historian, and recently officially retired from the post of Robert W. Reneker Distinguished Service Professor of Music at the University of Chicago...
) - SkepticismSkepticismSkepticism has many definitions, but generally refers to any questioning attitude towards knowledge, facts, or opinions/beliefs stated as facts, or doubt regarding claims that are taken for granted elsewhere...
and SexualityHuman sexualityHuman sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...
in Shakespeare - The Young Shakespeare and the Drama that he Knew
- Shakespeare in the Mediterranean
- British Theatre (in 2003, during the London study-abroad program the English Department offers every Autumn)
- Renaissance Drama (which pairs five Shakespeare plays with five other plays)
Memberships and honors
Bevington was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and SciencesAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
in 1985, and a member of the American Philosophical Society in 1986.
He belongs to a number of academic organizations:
- American Association of University ProfessorsAmerican Association of University ProfessorsThe American Association of University Professors is an organization of professors and other academics in the United States. AAUP membership is about 47,000, with over 500 local campus chapters and 39 state organizations...
(acting president, Virginia conference, 1962–63, president, 1963–64) - Shakespeare Association of America (president, 1976–77, 1995–96)
- Renaissance English Text Society (president, 1978–present)
- Modern Language AssociationModern Language AssociationThe Modern Language Association of America is the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature...
of America - Renaissance Society of America
Personal life
David and Margaret Bronson Bevington née Brown ("Peggy") were married on June 4, 1953. Peggy taught primary schoolchildren at the Laboratory School adjacent to the main quadrangles for many years. They live several blocks from the University of Chicago's main campus, and throw a light soirée for his students once per quarterAcademic quarter (year division)
An academic quarter refers to the division of an academic year into four parts, found in a minority of universities in the United States and in some European and Asian countries.-Background and trends:...
. Many students fondly recall discussing such things as the feminist
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
implications of Measure for Measure over melba toast and coffee. They have four children: Stephen Raymond, Philip Landon, Katharine Helen, and Sarah Amelia. Bevington self-identifies as both a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
and "lapsed Episcopalian
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
." Bevington's adamant support for exercise is demonstrated in his use of the bicycle as a means of transportation, and when that is made impossible by snow or rain, in his insistence on walking—not driving—the requisite distance to campus, despite his being among the most senior members of the faculty. He notably also takes public transportation whenever he travels from his Hyde Park
Hyde Park, Chicago
Hyde Park, located on the South Side of the City of Chicago, in Cook County, Illinois, United States and seven miles south of the Chicago Loop, is a Chicago neighborhood and one of 77 Chicago community areas. It is home to the University of Chicago, the Hyde Park Art Center, the Museum of Science...
home to downtown Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. Bevington is left-handed and a concert violist
Violist
-Notable violists:A* Julia Rebekka Adler * Sir Hugh Allen , conductor* Kris Allen * Johann Andreas Amon * Paul Angerer , composer* Steven Ansell * Atar Arad * Cecil Aronowitz...
, who continues to perform in various ensembles, including a quartet
String quartet
A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
involving faculty and students from the university. He enjoys chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
and opera, and owns a restored pre-World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
Steinway
Steinway
Steinway may refer to:* Steinway & Sons, an American and German piano manufacturer* Steinway Hall, a building housing concert halls, showrooms and sales departments for Steinway & Sons pianos* Steinway D-274, the concert grand piano by Steinway & Sons...
grand piano.
Selected bibliography
Although the following does not boast of being complete, it includes the vast majority of Bevington's publications sorted into three lists: books he has authored, plays/anthologies thereof he has edited, and anthologies of scholarly essays he has edited (with or without a co-editor).Authored
- From "Mankind" to Marlowe: Growth of Structure in the Popular Drama of Tudor England (Harvard University Press, 1962)
- Tudor Drama and Politics: A Critical Approach to Topical Meaning (Harvard University Press, 1968)
- Shakespeare (Goldentree Bibliographies in Language and Literature) AHM Pub. Corp., 1978.
- Action Is Eloquence: Shakespeare's Language of Gesture (Harvard University Press, 1984)
- Homo, Memento Finis: The Iconography of Just Judgment in Medieval Art and Drama (Early Drama, Art, and Music Monograph Series, 6). Western Michigan Univ Medieval Press. (1985)
- Shakespeare: The Seven Ages of Human Experience (Blackwell Publishing, 2002)
- The Theatrical City: Culture, Theatre and Politics in London, 1576-1649, with David L. Smith and Richard Strier (Cambridge University Press, 2003)
- Shakespeare: Script, Stage, Screen (Longman, 2005)
- How to Read a Shakespeare Play, part of the How to Study Literature series (Wiley-Blackwell, 2006)
- This Wide and Universal Theater: Shakespeare in Performance, Then and Now (University of Chicago Press, 2007)
- Shakespeare's Ideas: More Things in Heaven and Earth (Wiley-Blackwell, 2008)
- Shakespeare and Biography (Oxford University Press, 2010)
- Murder Most Foul: Hamlet Through the Ages (Oxford, 2011)
Forthcoming
As Editor of Drama
Bevington's extensive bibliography as an editor comprises mainly the Shakespeare canon and will, in the coming year, come to include a complete Jonson. The bulk of his work has been with David Scott Kastan in the 29-volume Bantam series, which was originally published in 1988 and was reissued in 2005, and his own complete Shakespeare, which is continually reissued. However, Bevington has worked on a handful of plays for other publishers, though nearly all are within the scope of the English Renaissance. Bevington has notably maintained a single, conflated text in all of his editions of King Lear, a revisionist choice criticized by some scholars (including the abovementioned Richard Strier, who insists his own students read the Quarto and Folio texts separately).Bantam Classics
The Bantam Classics series, self-touted as "The most student-friendly Shakespeare on the market," is different from, for instance, Bevington's Oxford and Arden editions of Henry IV and Troilus and Cressida (respectively) in not so much scholarship, but intended audience. A high-school student finds Bantam straightforward, on the whole, because its glossary explains all words that might be obscure or different in meaning from their present use. The latter two, however, assume an audience already somewhat versed in the idiomatic dialect of Elizabethan England.In addition to the many individual volumes listed below, there have been collected anthologies of Shakespeare plays. A few of these Bantam anthologies contain plays that are unavailable from Bantam in their solo form. The anthologies are as follows:
- Four Tragedies: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth
- Four Comedies: The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night
- The Late Romances: PericlesPericles, Prince of TyrePericles, Prince of Tyre is a Jacobean play written at least in part by William Shakespeare and included in modern editions of his collected works despite questions over its authorship, as it was not included in the First Folio...
, CymbelineCymbelineCymbeline , also known as Cymbeline, King of Britain or The Tragedy of Cymbeline, is a play by William Shakespeare, based on legends concerning the early Celtic British King Cunobelinus. Although listed as a tragedy in the First Folio, modern critics often classify Cymbeline as a romance...
, The Winter's TaleThe Winter's TaleThe Winter's Tale is a play by William Shakespeare, originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, some modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some critics, among them W. W...
and The TempestThe TempestThe Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place,... - Three Early Comedies: Love's Labour's Lost, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Merry Wives of Windsor
- Three Classical Tragedies: Titus Andronicus, Timon of Athens, Coriolanus
- Measure for Measure, All's Well that Ends Well, Troilus and Cressida (Note: Although not indicated as such in the title, the three plays contained herein are considered Shakespeare's 'problem plays,' and frequently grouped together as such.)
Furthermore, Bantam has published Bevington's edition of Shakespeare's sonnets and other poetry.
Comedies:
- The Comedy of ErrorsThe Comedy of ErrorsThe Comedy of Errors is one of William Shakespeare's earliest plays. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and word play. The Comedy of Errors is one of only two of Shakespeare's...
- Much Ado About NothingMuch Ado About NothingMuch Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....
- A Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
- Twelfth Night
- The Merchant of VeniceThe Merchant of VeniceThe Merchant of Venice is a tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic...
- As You Like ItAs You Like ItAs You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published in the folio of 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility...
- The Taming of the ShrewThe Taming of the ShrewThe Taming of the Shrew is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1591.The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the Induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken tinker named Sly into believing he is actually a nobleman himself...
Romances:
- The TempestThe TempestThe Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place,...
Histories:
- Henry IV, Part 1Henry IV, Part 1Henry IV, Part 1 is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597. It is the second play in Shakespeare's tetralogy dealing with the successive reigns of Richard II, Henry IV , and Henry V...
- Henry IV, Part 2Henry IV, Part 2Henry IV, Part 2 is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed written between 1596 and 1599. It is the third part of a tetralogy, preceded by Richard II and Henry IV, Part 1 and succeeded by Henry V.-Sources:...
- Henry VHenry V (play)Henry V is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to be written in approximately 1599. Its full titles are The Cronicle History of Henry the Fifth and The Life of Henry the Fifth...
- Henry VI (all three parts contained in one volume)
- Richard IIRichard II (play)King Richard the Second is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to be written in approximately 1595. It is based on the life of King Richard II of England and is the first part of a tetralogy, referred to by some scholars as the Henriad, followed by three plays concerning Richard's...
- Richard IIIRichard III (play)Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. It depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified...
- King John and Henry VIIIHenry VIII (play)The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight is a history play by William Shakespeare and John Fletcher, based on the life of Henry VIII of England. An alternative title, All is True, is recorded in contemporary documents, the title Henry VIII not appearing until the play's publication...
published as one volume.
Tragedies:
- Romeo and JulietRomeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
- HamletHamletThe Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
- OthelloOthelloThe Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
- King LearKing LearKing Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...
- MacbethMacbethThe Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
- Antony and CleopatraAntony and CleopatraAntony and Cleopatra is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607. It was first printed in the First Folio of 1623. The plot is based on Thomas North's translation of Plutarch's Lives and follows the relationship between Cleopatra and Mark Antony...
- Julius CaesarJulius CaesarGaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
Longman
The Longman complete Shakespeare is unique because, unlike the Oxford, Riverside, Norton, or Arden (and the less impressive Pelican), it is edited by a single scholar. It furthermore contains certain obscure plays, such as The Two Noble KinsmenThe Two Noble Kinsmen
The Two Noble Kinsmen is a Jacobean tragicomedy, first published in 1634 and attributed to John Fletcher and William Shakespeare. Its plot derives from "The Knight's Tale" in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales....
, that the Bantam series simply couldn't market. Its poetry selection is moreover wider than that of the Bantam series, containing the substantial work outside the sonnets.
- The Complete Works of Shakespeare, Portable Edition (2006)
- Shakespeare's Comedies, Bevington Shakespeare Series (2006)
- Shakespeare's Tragedies, Bevington Shakespeare Series (2006)
- Shakespeare's Histories, Bevington Shakespeare Series (2006)
- Shakespeare's Romances and Poems, Bevington Shakespeare Series (2006)
- The Complete Works of Shakespeare (6th edition, 2008)
- The Necessary Shakespeare (3rd edition, 2008)
Revels Plays and Student Editions
Although two separate entities, both series are published by Manchester University Press. David Bevington is a general editor of the Revels Plays.- The New InnThe New InnThe New Inn, or The Light Heart is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy by English playwright and poet Ben Jonson.The New Inn was licensed for performance by Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the Revels, on 19 January 1629, and acted later that year by the King's Men at the Blackfriars Theatre...
(1984) - The Jew of MaltaThe Jew of MaltaThe Jew of Malta is a play by Christopher Marlowe, probably written in 1589 or 1590. Its plot is an original story of religious conflict, intrigue, and revenge, set against a backdrop of the struggle for supremacy between Spain and the Ottoman Empire in the Mediterranean that takes place on the...
(1997) - EndymionEndymion (play)Endymion, the Man in the Moon is an Elizabethan era stage play, a comedy by John Lyly. The play provides a vivid example of the cult of flattery in the royal court of Queen Elizabeth I, and has been called "without doubt, the boldest in conception and the most beautiful in execution of all Lyly's...
(1997) - Tamburlaine The Great (1999)
- VolponeVolponeVolpone is a comedy by Ben Jonson first produced in 1606, drawing on elements of city comedy, black comedy and beast fable...
(1999) - Plays on Women: A Chaste Maid in Cheapside, The Roaring Girl, Arden of Faversham, and A Woman Killed With Kingness (1999)
- CampaspeCampaspeCampaspe, the mistress of Alexander the Great and a prominent citizen of Larissa. She was painted by Apelles, who had the reputation in Antiquity for being the greatest of painters...
and Sappho and Phao (1999) - Doctor FaustusDoctor FaustusDoctor Faustus could refer to:*The character of Faust*Dr. Johann Georg Faust , widely considered to be an inspiration for the character of Faust....
(2nd Edition, 2007) - GalateaGalateaGalatea is an ancient Greek name meaning "she who is milk-white".Galatea or Galathea may refer to:-In mythology:* Galatea :**Galatea, a woman who prayed for her daughter to be turned into a son, Leucippus...
and MidasMidasFor the legend of Gordias, a person who was taken by the people and made King, in obedience to the command of the oracle, see Gordias.Midas or King Midas is popularly remembered in Greek mythology for his ability to turn everything he touched into gold. This was called the Golden touch, or the...
(2008)
The Sourcebooks Shakespeare
The Sourcebooks Shakespeare is a series that includes an audio CD to enrich the otherwise purely textual experience. The CD contains more than 60 minutes of audio narrated by Sir Derek Jacobi and includes version of key speeches from historical and contemporary productions. They are published by Sourcebooks, and Bevington serves as advisory editor for the series.Tragedies:
- Romeo and JulietRomeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
(2005) - Julius CaesarJulius CaesarGaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
(2006) - HamletHamletThe Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
(2006) - King LearKing LearKing Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...
(2007) - OthelloOthelloThe Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
(2005) - MacbethMacbethThe Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
(2006)
Comedies and Romances:
- The Taming of the ShrewThe Taming of the ShrewThe Taming of the Shrew is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1591.The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the Induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken tinker named Sly into believing he is actually a nobleman himself...
(2008) - The Merchant of VeniceThe Merchant of VeniceThe Merchant of Venice is a tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic...
(2008) - A Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
(2005) - Much Ado about NothingMuch Ado About NothingMuch Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....
(2006) - The TempestThe TempestThe Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place,...
(2008)
Histories:
- Richard IIIRichard III (play)Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. It depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified...
(2007)
Others
David Bevington's work as editor of drama includes several individual plays and anthologies not tied to any larger series. The Oxford, Cambridge, and Arden editions are significantly more scholarly than the Signet and abovementioned Bantam plays; that is, the scholar assumes the reader to be somewhat versed in Elizabethan English such that the glossaries focus more about mythological and cultural references than mere syntax. They are recommended for graduate students and undergraduates with something to prove.- Medieval Drama, Wadsworth Publishing (1975)
- Richard IIRichard II (play)King Richard the Second is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to be written in approximately 1595. It is based on the life of King Richard II of England and is the first part of a tetralogy, referred to by some scholars as the Henriad, followed by three plays concerning Richard's...
, Signet Classics (1999) - Troilus and Cressida (Arden Shakespeare, 1998)
- English Renaissance Drama, A Norton Anthology (W.W. Norton & Co., 2002)
- Antony and CleopatraAntony and CleopatraAntony and Cleopatra is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607. It was first printed in the First Folio of 1623. The plot is based on Thomas North's translation of Plutarch's Lives and follows the relationship between Cleopatra and Mark Antony...
(Cambridge University Press, 2005) - The Spanish TragedyThe Spanish TragedyThe Spanish Tragedy, or Hieronimo is Mad Again is an Elizabethan tragedy written by Thomas Kyd between 1582 and 1592. Highly popular and influential in its time, The Spanish Tragedy established a new genre in English theatre, the revenge play or revenge tragedy. Its plot contains several violent...
(Methuen Drama, 2007) - Doctor FaustusDoctor FaustusDoctor Faustus could refer to:*The character of Faust*Dr. Johann Georg Faust , widely considered to be an inspiration for the character of Faust....
and Other Plays (Oxford University Press, 2008), a Marlowe collection leaving out an early playDido, Queen of CarthageDido, Queen of Carthage is a short play written by the English playwright Christopher Marlowe, with possible contributions by Thomas Nashe. The story of the play focuses on the classical figure of Dido, the Queen of Carthage...
whose authenticity is controversial, and a late playThe Massacre at ParisThe Massacre at Paris is an Elizabethan play by the English dramatist Christopher Marlowe. It concerns the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre, which took place in Paris in 1572, and the part played by the Duc de Guise in those events....
, which has survived only fragmentally. - Henry IV, Part 1, of Oxford World Classics' The Oxford Shakespeare (Oxford University Press, 2008)
- The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Ben Jonson (forthcoming, Dec. 31, 2011)
As editor
- Twentieth Century Interpretations of Hamlet, Prentice Hall Trade (1968)
- An Introduction to Shakespeare, Scott, Foresman (1975)
- Shakespeare: Pattern of Excelling Nature, Associated University Presses (1978)
- Henry IV, Parts I and II: Critical Essays, Garland (1986)
- The Politics of the Stuart Court Masque, with Peter Holbrook (Cambridge University Press, 1998)
As contributor
- 'Bring Furth the Pagants': Essays in Early English Drama (University of Toronto Press, 2007)
External links
- Bevington's homepage at the University of Chicago English Department website
- Bevington's slightly out-of-date page at the University of Chicago Comparative Literature website
- Video interview The Collected Works of Ben Jonson