Resource Post 9

At this point, I have already listed the best secondary sources (that I could find) for my chosen research topic. In the 3-4 posts to follow, I will be giving slightly shorter analyses of the remaining secondary sources that I would like to talk about, since they become much less involved with the focus of this portion of my blog. However, this does not mean that those of you looking for resources on domestic violence/homosociality (especially in Arden of Faversham) should pay these next few sources no mind; you may find some of these sources more relevant to your own interests than they are to mine, and so I encourage you to at least look at them in more detail. Anyhow, today's post focuses on Alexander's Leggatt's essay, "Arden of Faversham" (creative and informative title, I know), published in Shakespeare Survey: An Annual Survey of Shakespearian Study and Production, volume 36.

Now I know what you're thinking: "Shakespeare Survey? I thought your topic deals with Arden of Faversham..." This is true. But Arden of Faversham was written by an anonymous author, and there are some who argue that Arden of Faversham was written by Shakespeare and that his authorship of the play was either lost or never made known. And besides, it doesn't make a difference to my topic whether Shakespeare wrote the play or not. So I thought I would take a look at Leggatt's article to see what it had to offer (since it's generic title made me think that it would be applicable to my subject matter. Anyhow, here's my analysis of the article:

In this essay, Leggatt examines the style in which the anonymous author of Arden of Faversham wrote the play. He compares the style of writing and writing conventions employed in the text to other, popular early modern English plays, such as Tambourline and Hamlet. Leggatt argues that, in writing Arden of Faversham, the author has allowed a greater degree of realism into the early modern theater than other plays of the time allowed.

There's more to it than this, I know, but I feel that I have summarized the gist of the article quite well. Of particular interest to my topic, Leggatt does examine the character Franklin on several occasions throughout the course of his essay, and in one instance he notes how Franklin tends to pull Arden away from the domestic problems that Arden faces throughout the play. He also notes how Arden and Mosby seem to have an intuitive, friendship-like connection with one another, as seen through their several interactions. More specifically, I plan to use Leggatt's observations as part of the foundation for my claim that it is Franklin and his connection to Arden that allow for Alice’s adultery and, later, Arden’s murder.

This article may admittedly not be ideal for all topics relating to Arden of Faversham. I know that I am taking several small pieces from the article for my own argument, but that's one thing I like about the essay. There is a lot of information in the article, and thus there is a lot that can be used for a variety of different topics. So do check it out, and I hope it'll be equally (if not more) useful for you.