Madeleine Doran
Encyclopedia
Madeleine Doran was an American
literary critic and poet who taught at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
from the early 1930s until her retirement in the 1970s. Doran's work combined historical and formalist impulses. Her most famous work, Endeavors of Art, analyzed Medieval and Renaissance
aesthetic treatises as a route to understanding the dramaturgy of Elizabethan
playwrights. Endeavors of Art also helped define the relative weight and significance of classical, Italian, and English influences on the drama. The work, as Doran explains, "is an attempt to reconstruct some part of the context of ideas, assumptions, and predispositions about literary art in which Shakespeare and his fellow English dramatists, at the height of their country's Renaissance
, must have worked, and to suggest ways in which these things may have helped shape their art."
Doran also published Shakespeare's Dramatic Language, a collection of critical essays, in 1976. She edited A Midsummer Night's Dream
for Pelican Shakespeare and Thomas Heywood
's If You Know Not Me, You Know Nobody
for the Malone Society
. An early monograph arguing that the difference between the quarto
and folio versions of King Lear
indicated authorial revision was largely unpersuasive when it appeared in the 1930s; however, the argument was taken up by later critics and has proved influential in recent critical and editorial practice.
Doran was also a poet. Her volumes are a collection of essays, Something About Swans (1973) and Time's Foot (1974); the latter volume won the Banta Award of the Wisconsin Library Association.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
literary critic and poet who taught at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
from the early 1930s until her retirement in the 1970s. Doran's work combined historical and formalist impulses. Her most famous work, Endeavors of Art, analyzed Medieval and 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...
aesthetic treatises as a route to understanding the dramaturgy of Elizabethan
Elizabethan era
The Elizabethan era was the epoch in English history of Queen Elizabeth I's reign . Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history...
playwrights. Endeavors of Art also helped define the relative weight and significance of classical, Italian, and English influences on the drama. The work, as Doran explains, "is an attempt to reconstruct some part of the context of ideas, assumptions, and predispositions about literary art in which Shakespeare and his fellow English dramatists, at the height of their country's 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...
, must have worked, and to suggest ways in which these things may have helped shape their art."
Doran also published Shakespeare's Dramatic Language, a collection of critical essays, in 1976. She edited 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...
for Pelican Shakespeare and Thomas Heywood
Thomas Heywood
Thomas Heywood was a prominent English playwright, actor, and author whose peak period of activity falls between late Elizabethan and early Jacobean theatre.-Early years:...
's If You Know Not Me, You Know Nobody
If You Know Not Me, You Know Nobody
If You Know Not Me, You Know Nobody is a two-part play by Thomas Heywood, depicting the life and reign of Elizabeth I of England, written very soon after the latter's death. The title deliberately echoes that of Samuel Rowley's 1605 play When You See Me You Know Me.Part 1 is a chronicle history of...
for the Malone Society
Malone Society
The Malone Society is a British-based scholarly society devoted to the study of sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century drama. It publishes editions of plays from manuscript, facsimile editions of printed and manuscript plays of the period, and editions of original documents relating to English...
. An early monograph arguing that the difference between the quarto
Quarto
Quarto could refer to:* Quarto, a size or format of a book in which four leaves of a book are created from a standard size sheet of paper* For specific information about quarto texts of William Shakespeare's works, see:...
and folio versions of King Lear
King Lear
King 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...
indicated authorial revision was largely unpersuasive when it appeared in the 1930s; however, the argument was taken up by later critics and has proved influential in recent critical and editorial practice.
Doran was also a poet. Her volumes are a collection of essays, Something About Swans (1973) and Time's Foot (1974); the latter volume won the Banta Award of the Wisconsin Library Association.