Fangs Of Malice
Subtitle: Hypocrisy, Sincerity, and Acting (Studies Theatre Hist & Culture)
Publisher: University Of Iowa Press
Published: April 1, 2002
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 264
ISBN-13: 9780877458098
Subjects: Acting techniques; Cultural studies; World history: c 1750 to c 1900; Psychological aspects; Acting; Performing Arts And Society; Performing Arts; Performing Arts/Dance; Theater and society; Social life and customs; Acting & Auditioning; Performing Arts / Acting & Auditioning; Actors; Theater - History & Criticism
Description: "The idea that actors are hypocrites and fakes and therefore dangerous to society was widespread in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Fangs of Malice examines the equation between the vice of hypocrisy and the craft of acting as it appears in antitheatrical tracts, in popular and high culture, and especially in plays of the period.

Rousseau and others argue that actors, expert at seeming other than they are, pose a threat to society; yet dissembling seems also to be an inevitable consequence of human social intercourse. The "antitheatrical prejudice" offers a unique perspective on the high value that modern western culture places on sincerity, on being true to one's own self." "Fangs of Malice will be of interest to scholars and students of drama as well as to theatre professionals and buffs."--BOOK JACKET.