The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 16.0877 Thursday, 5 May 2005
[1] From: Kris McDermott <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
Date: Wednesday, 4 May 2005 12:28:38 -0400
Subj: RE: SHK 16.0870 Macbeth Questions
[2] From: John Drakakis <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
Date: Thursday, 5 May 2005 14:25:16 +0100
Subj: RE: SHK 16.0870 Macbeth Questions
[1]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From: Kris McDermott <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
Date: Wednesday, 4 May 2005 12:28:38 -0400
Subject: 16.0870 Macbeth Questions
Comment: RE: SHK 16.0870 Macbeth Questions
Sarah Cohen:
>I always thought the phrase "swelling act" was a theatrical (or,
>possibly, a musical) metaphor, not a priapic one.
>
>What about "swelling scene" in Henry V? Is that another reference to
>tumescence? What exactly does the Chorus wish that monarchs should behold?
Sondheim and Styne make the exact same joke in "You Gotta Have a
Gimmick" (the comic apotheosis of "Gypsy") as the stripper Tessie Tura
punctuates her routine with Shakespearean quotes: "Where the bee sucks,
there suck I; In a cowslip bell I *bump!*"; "Oh that this too too solid
flesh would melt, thaw, and resolve itself into a *bump!*"; and "Oh for
a muse of fire -- a kingdom for a stage, princes to act, and monarchs to
behold the swelling *bump!*"
Kris McDermott
Central Michigan University
[2]-------------------------------------------------------------
From: John Drakakis <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
Date: Thursday, 5 May 2005 14:25:16 +0100
Subject: 16.0870 Macbeth Questions
Comment: RE: SHK 16.0870 Macbeth Questions
Sarah Cohen is right, not all swelling signifies tumescence. The
context is important though, don't you think?
Cheers,
John Drakakis
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