Stage | The Guardian: The number of plays attributed to the 16th-century playwright Thomas Kyd has more than doubled in a major new edition.
The forthcoming second volume of The Collected Works of Thomas Kyd makes a substantial case for his sole or part-authorship of plays previously attributed to William Shakespeare or Christopher Marlowe.
2 comments:
I have always found the art of decoding the historic texts that we find in our hands today incredibly fascinating. We look back at these old times in order to attempt to understand a time that no one alive today can recount and mistakes are bound to happen. This article talks about how Tomas Kyd seems to be one of the most looked over and forgotten playwrights of his time. Later on they mention that he has previously been attributed as the writer of the play Cornelia. Although Cornelia is not as globally known as Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet it is known in the theater scene. Being known by the people who truly appreciate the art of theater is far more important than being taught in a tenth grade English classroom. Although it is good that we have corrected past mistakes and given the much deserved credit to Tomas Kyd and his work.
It’s articles like this that remind me that the history we know is constantly changing. To shift ownership from William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe seems to me to be a big deal. Kyd is a name that I know only vaguely, having never studied one of his works (that I am aware of, at the least). The textual analysis that this discovery must have required is certainly in-depth. I’m intrigued by the comparisons that the author makes regarding common phrases in Kyd’s works against other playwrights. Beginning at only three plays, Kyd’s canon expanded to eight with this new case made in the second volume of his collected works. Authorship affects how we view a play because it is our link to the context in which the piece was written. Meaning, the perspective and message of the play is chosen by the playwright- given different motivations, a play takes on a different world.
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