Further evidence beyond Epicene, 5.1 (I
incorrectly mentioned act 4 earlier): Aubrey mentions that Thomas
Hobbes carried pen and ink in the handle of his walking stick. One of
the characters in Epicene asks if Daw carries his pen and ink in the
haft of his knife, but it turns out he has a "box of instruments"
that he carries with him.
Good luck,
Helen
Robert Tittler wrote:
[log in to unmask]"
type="cite">Thanks, Helen; this is very useful indeed. Most of the
evidence presented
in this essay is drawn from plays, though this play is not cited. But
these dramatic references further beg the question of whether the
playwright is making this up, or has actually seen such a practice.
Still,
a very valuable reference.,
Many thanks and best wishes!
Bob
At 01:58 PM 2/9/2007 -0500, you wrote:
Bob, there is a mention in Jonson's play
Epicene -- I think in Act 4 --
of a portable inkpot and pen that one could carry around easily to
write
down quick notes or sketches. But I tend to agree with the view that
says people had memories, and wrote down good quotations when they got
home.
Best,
Helen
Robert Tittler wrote:
Dear Colleagues,
I write to see if you help with the following research question.
The query is as follows:
In an apparently unpublished paper of
which I have the text, the
claim is
made that playgoers to Shakespeare's plays sometimes brought their
quills, paper and ink-horns to performances so that they could wrote
down
on the spot attractive phrases and other bon mots for their
commonplace books.
I am skeptical of this on practical
grounds--this is a lot to carry to
a playhouse--and I think the documentation is pretty vague. I don't
doubt that people did remember such phrases and write them down
afterwards, much as seems to have been done by, e.g., those who heard
Queen Elizabeth's speech at Tilbury. But has anyone found examples of a
playgoer of writing such things down while seeing the play, as opposed
to remembering it for later recording? I'd love to have some
evidence...or to be sure that there is none.
Many thanks!
Bob Tittler
--
Dr H M Ostovich
Professor of English / Editor, EARLY THEATRE
McMaster University
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8S 4L9
905 525-9140 x24496
FAX 905 777-8316
http://www.earlytheatre.ca
