Looking into the attribute of transcendent genius: George Henry Boker and Robert Conrad’s use of Shakespeare
This article explores the literary responses of two nineteenth-century American playwrights to Shakespeare: Robert Conrad (1810-1848) and George Henry Boker (1823-1890). While Conrad aimed at providing a melodramatic counter-model to 2 Henry VI in Jack Cade, he failed to grasp Shakespeare’s ambivale...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Association Française d'Etudes Américaines
2010-07-01
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| Series: | Transatlantica |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/4889 |
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| author | Ronan Ludot-Vlasak |
| author_facet | Ronan Ludot-Vlasak |
| author_sort | Ronan Ludot-Vlasak |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article explores the literary responses of two nineteenth-century American playwrights to Shakespeare: Robert Conrad (1810-1848) and George Henry Boker (1823-1890). While Conrad aimed at providing a melodramatic counter-model to 2 Henry VI in Jack Cade, he failed to grasp Shakespeare’s ambivalent stance and to challenge his figure as a symbol of literary genius. Boker’s less radical and more reverential approach in Anne Boleyn and Francesca da Rimini prevented him from being more than an epigone. Although he altered his model and sometimes combined references to different plays, his use of Shakespeare was more a form of imitation than of reinvention. Conrad and Boker’s literary attitudes to the Bard proved to be quite different, but they both failed to defamiliarise him and to truly question Shakespeare as a literary icon. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-043d4509866f48a7b5aa6c9811c004f2 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1765-2766 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2010-07-01 |
| publisher | Association Française d'Etudes Américaines |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Transatlantica |
| spelling | doaj-art-043d4509866f48a7b5aa6c9811c004f22025-01-30T10:46:42ZengAssociation Française d'Etudes AméricainesTransatlantica1765-27662010-07-01110.4000/transatlantica.4889Looking into the attribute of transcendent genius: George Henry Boker and Robert Conrad’s use of ShakespeareRonan Ludot-VlasakThis article explores the literary responses of two nineteenth-century American playwrights to Shakespeare: Robert Conrad (1810-1848) and George Henry Boker (1823-1890). While Conrad aimed at providing a melodramatic counter-model to 2 Henry VI in Jack Cade, he failed to grasp Shakespeare’s ambivalent stance and to challenge his figure as a symbol of literary genius. Boker’s less radical and more reverential approach in Anne Boleyn and Francesca da Rimini prevented him from being more than an epigone. Although he altered his model and sometimes combined references to different plays, his use of Shakespeare was more a form of imitation than of reinvention. Conrad and Boker’s literary attitudes to the Bard proved to be quite different, but they both failed to defamiliarise him and to truly question Shakespeare as a literary icon.https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/4889ShakespeareAmerican dramanineteenth-century literatureRobert ConradGeorge Henry Bokerintertextuality |
| spellingShingle | Ronan Ludot-Vlasak Looking into the attribute of transcendent genius: George Henry Boker and Robert Conrad’s use of Shakespeare Transatlantica Shakespeare American drama nineteenth-century literature Robert Conrad George Henry Boker intertextuality |
| title | Looking into the attribute of transcendent genius: George Henry Boker and Robert Conrad’s use of Shakespeare |
| title_full | Looking into the attribute of transcendent genius: George Henry Boker and Robert Conrad’s use of Shakespeare |
| title_fullStr | Looking into the attribute of transcendent genius: George Henry Boker and Robert Conrad’s use of Shakespeare |
| title_full_unstemmed | Looking into the attribute of transcendent genius: George Henry Boker and Robert Conrad’s use of Shakespeare |
| title_short | Looking into the attribute of transcendent genius: George Henry Boker and Robert Conrad’s use of Shakespeare |
| title_sort | looking into the attribute of transcendent genius george henry boker and robert conrad s use of shakespeare |
| topic | Shakespeare American drama nineteenth-century literature Robert Conrad George Henry Boker intertextuality |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/4889 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ronanludotvlasak lookingintotheattributeoftranscendentgeniusgeorgehenrybokerandrobertconradsuseofshakespeare |