Gerald Eades Bentley
Encyclopedia
Gerald Eades Bentley was an American academic and literary scholar, best remembered for his The Jacobean and Caroline Stage, published by Oxford University Press in seven volumes between 1941 and 1968. That work, modeled on the classic four-volume work The Elizabethan Stage by Edmund Kerchever Chambers
, has itself become a standard and essential reference work on English Renaissance theatre
.
Bentley was born in Brazil, Indiana
, the son of a Methodist clergyman. Originally intending to be a creative writer, he changed his career to literary scholarship during his graduate studies. He earned his B.A. at DePauw University
(1923), his M.A. in English at the University of Illinois (1926), and his Ph.D. at the University of London
(1929), studying under Allardyce Nicoll
. Bentley taught at the University of Chicago
from 1929-1945 before serving as Murray Professor of English at Princeton University
from 1945 until his retirement in 1970. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
in 1975.
In addition to his Jacobean and Caroline Stage, Bentley wrote a wide range of works on Shakepeare and other figures of the English Renaissance. His essay "Shakespeare and the Blackfriars Theatre," originally published in the inaugural issue of the Shakespeare Survey in 1948, has been widely reprinted. Bentley edited several works for modern editions, including Othello
, The Alchemist
, and the 1577 text The Art of Angling.
Bentley was married to Esther Felt, a significant colleague in his scholarly work, from 1927 until her death in 1961. In 1965, he married Ellen Voigt Stern, who died in 1990. Bentley's son and namesake, Gerald Eades Bentley Jr., became a noted literary scholar in his own right, specializing in the career and works of William Blake
.
Edmund Kerchever Chambers
Sir Edmund Kerchever Chambers was an English literary critic and Shakespearean scholar. His four-volume history of Elizabethan theater, published in 1923, remains a standard resource for scholars of the period's drama....
, has itself become a standard and essential reference work on English Renaissance theatre
English Renaissance theatre
English Renaissance theatre, also known as early modern English theatre, refers to the theatre of England, largely based in London, which occurred between the Reformation and the closure of the theatres in 1642...
.
Bentley was born in Brazil, Indiana
Brazil, Indiana
Brazil is a city in Clay County, Indiana, United States. The population was 7,912 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Clay County. It is part of the Terre Haute Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, the son of a Methodist clergyman. Originally intending to be a creative writer, he changed his career to literary scholarship during his graduate studies. He earned his B.A. at DePauw University
DePauw University
DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, USA, is a private, national liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,400 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the Great Lakes Colleges Association...
(1923), his M.A. in English at the University of Illinois (1926), and his Ph.D. at the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
(1929), studying under Allardyce Nicoll
Allardyce Nicoll
John Ramsay Allardyce Nicoll was an English literary scholar and teacher.Allardyce Nicoll was born and educated in Glasgow. He became a lecturer at King's College London in 1920 and took the chair of English at East London College John Ramsay Allardyce Nicoll (28 June 1894 – 17 April 1976) was an...
. Bentley taught 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...
from 1929-1945 before serving as Murray Professor of English at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
from 1945 until his retirement in 1970. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American 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 1975.
In addition to his Jacobean and Caroline Stage, Bentley wrote a wide range of works on Shakepeare and other figures of the English Renaissance. His essay "Shakespeare and the Blackfriars Theatre," originally published in the inaugural issue of the Shakespeare Survey in 1948, has been widely reprinted. Bentley edited several works for modern editions, including Othello
Othello
The 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...
, The Alchemist
The Alchemist (play)
The Alchemist is a comedy by English playwright Ben Jonson. First performed in 1610 by the King's Men, it is generally considered Jonson's best and most characteristic comedy; Samuel Taylor Coleridge claimed that it had one of the three most perfect plots in literature...
, and the 1577 text The Art of Angling.
Bentley was married to Esther Felt, a significant colleague in his scholarly work, from 1927 until her death in 1961. In 1965, he married Ellen Voigt Stern, who died in 1990. Bentley's son and namesake, Gerald Eades Bentley Jr., became a noted literary scholar in his own right, specializing in the career and works of William Blake
William Blake
William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
.
G. E. Bentley: selected works
- Shakespeare and Jonson: Their Reputations in the Seventeenth Century Compared (1945)
- Shakespeare: A Biographical Handbook (1961)
- Shakespeare and His Theatre (1964)
- The Profession of Dramatist in Shakespeare's Time, 1590–1642 (1971)
See also
- Joseph Quincy AdamsJoseph Quincy AdamsJoseph Quincy Adams, Jr. was a prominent Shakespeare scholar and the first director of the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C....
- E. K. ChambersEdmund Kerchever ChambersSir Edmund Kerchever Chambers was an English literary critic and Shakespearean scholar. His four-volume history of Elizabethan theater, published in 1923, remains a standard resource for scholars of the period's drama....
- R. W. ChambersRaymond Wilson ChambersRaymond Wilson Chambers was a British literary scholar, author, and academic; throughout his career he was associated with University College London .-Life:...
- W. W. GregWalter Wilson GregSir Walter Wilson Greg was one of the leading bibliographers and Shakespeare scholars of the 20th century....
- Andrew GurrAndrew GurrAndrew John Gurr is a contemporary literary scholar who specializes in William Shakespeare and English Renaissance theatre.-Life and work:...
- Alfred HarbageAlfred HarbageAlfred Bennett Harbage was an influential Shakespeare scholar of the mid-20th century. He was born in Philadelphia and received his undergraduate degree and doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania. He lectured on Shakespeare both there and at Columbia before becoming a professor at Harvard...
- Cyrus HoyCyrus HoyCyrus Hoy was a literary scholar of the English Renaissance stage who taught at the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University, and was the John B. Trevor Professor of English at the University of Rochester...
- Clifford LeechClifford LeechClifford Leech was a prolifically published British-born professor of English at University College at the University of Toronto 1963-74...
- Kenneth MuirKenneth Muir (scholar)Kenneth Arthur Muir was a twentieth-century literary scholar and author, prominent in the fields of Shakespeare studies and English Renaissance theatre...
- T. M. ParrottThomas Marc ParrottThomas Marc Parrott was a prominent twentieth-century American literary scholar, long a member of the faculty of Princeton University in New Jersey....
- Alfred W. PollardAlfred W. PollardAlfred William Pollard was an English bibliographer, widely credited for bringing a higher level of scholarly rigor to the study of Shakespearean texts....
- Samuel SchoenbaumSamuel SchoenbaumSamuel Schoenbaum was a leading 20th century Shakespearean biographer and scholar.Born in New York, Schoenbaum taught at Northwestern University from 1953 to 1975, serving for the last four years of this period as the Frank Bliss Snyder Professor of English Literature. He later taught at the City...
- E. M. Thompson
- Charles William WallaceCharles William WallaceCharles William Wallace was an American scholar and researcher, famed for his discoveries in the field of English Renaissance theatre.Wallace was born in Hopkins, Missouri to Thomas Dickay Wallace and Olive McEwen...
- John Dover Wilson