Shakespeare Electronic Conference, Vol. 5, No. 0011. Wednesday, 5 January 1994.
From: Phyllis Rackin <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
Date: Tuesday, 4 Jan 1994 12:34:15 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Re: The Renaissance Bookshelf (Was Sh and Ancient World)
Dear Mr. McKenna,
Of course, what you say makes good sense. I'm sorry if my response
seemed dismissive: I think it had more to do with my congenital aversion
to what Allon White called "The Dismal Sacred Word" than to anything you
wrote. Have you seen White's essay? The full title is "'The Dismal
Sacred Word':Academic Language and the Social Reproduction of
Seriousness," and it's reprinted in *Carnival, Hysteria, and Writing*
(Oxford:Clarendon Press, 1993).
On the question of the likely levels of literacy/illiteracy among the
playgoers, have you seen Andrew Gurr's discussion on pp. 54-56 in the 1988
paperback edition of *Playgoing in Shakespeare's London*? And his
Appendix I, "Playgoers 1567-1642"?
Happy new year!
Phyllis Rackin
