Books by Travis Curtright

In Shakespeare's Dramatic Persons, Travis Curtright examines the influence of the classical rhetorical tradition on early modern theories of acting in a careful study of and selection from Shakespeare's most famous characters and successful plays. Curtright demonstrates that ';personation'the early modern term for playing a roleis a rhetorical acting style that could provide audiences with lifelike characters and action, including the theatrical illusion that dramatic persons possess interiority or inwardness.Shakespeare's Dramatic Persons focuses on major characters such as Richard III, Katherina, Benedick, and Iago and ranges from Shakespeare's early to late work, exploring particular rhetorical forms and how they function in five different plays. At the end of this study, Curtright envisions how Richard Burbage, Shakespeare's best actor, might have employed the theatrical convention of directly addressing audience members.Though personation clearly differs from the realism aspired to in modern approaches to the stage, Curtright reveals how Shakespeare's sophisticated use and development of persuasion's arts would have provided early modern actors with their own means and sense of performing lifelike dramatic persons.

The year 2015 marks the 15th anniversary of St. Pope John Paul II's promulgation of Thomas More as Patron Saint of Statesmen and Politicians. Yet during these years no serious answer has been given by a community of scholars as to why More was named such. What were More's guiding principles of leadership and in what ways might they remain applicable? This collection of essays addresses these questions by investigating More through his writings, his political actions, and in recent artistic depictions.