“There is a community of mind in it”: Quoting Shakespeare in the Eighteenth Century

This piece argues that quoting from literary works written in English became a habit only in the second half of the eighteenth century. The acceptance and celebration of a vernacular canon of English Literature, with Shakespeare’s drama at its heart, gave rise to the art and pleasure of quoting Shak...

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Main Author: John Mullan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Société d'Etudes Anglo-Américaines des XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles 2024-12-01
Series:XVII-XVIII
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/1718/13655
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author John Mullan
author_facet John Mullan
author_sort John Mullan
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description This piece argues that quoting from literary works written in English became a habit only in the second half of the eighteenth century. The acceptance and celebration of a vernacular canon of English Literature, with Shakespeare’s drama at its heart, gave rise to the art and pleasure of quoting Shakespeare. Shakespeare came to live in common usage through anthologies of ‘beauties’, and especially through the presence of his work in Johnson’s dictionary. Snatches from his plays also became important in eighteenth-century novels, particularly in Sterne’s Tristram Shandy, which relies on a reader’s knowledge of Shakespeare’s text.
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publisher Société d'Etudes Anglo-Américaines des XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles
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spelling doaj-art-c34260223e8c4cfdb409908c13e2a5682025-01-10T14:08:58ZengSociété d'Etudes Anglo-Américaines des XVIIe et XVIIIe sièclesXVII-XVIII0291-37982117-590X2024-12-018110.4000/130qb“There is a community of mind in it”: Quoting Shakespeare in the Eighteenth CenturyJohn MullanThis piece argues that quoting from literary works written in English became a habit only in the second half of the eighteenth century. The acceptance and celebration of a vernacular canon of English Literature, with Shakespeare’s drama at its heart, gave rise to the art and pleasure of quoting Shakespeare. Shakespeare came to live in common usage through anthologies of ‘beauties’, and especially through the presence of his work in Johnson’s dictionary. Snatches from his plays also became important in eighteenth-century novels, particularly in Sterne’s Tristram Shandy, which relies on a reader’s knowledge of Shakespeare’s text.https://journals.openedition.org/1718/13655ShakespearequotingJohnsonSterneeighteenth-century fiction
spellingShingle John Mullan
“There is a community of mind in it”: Quoting Shakespeare in the Eighteenth Century
XVII-XVIII
Shakespeare
quoting
Johnson
Sterne
eighteenth-century fiction
title “There is a community of mind in it”: Quoting Shakespeare in the Eighteenth Century
title_full “There is a community of mind in it”: Quoting Shakespeare in the Eighteenth Century
title_fullStr “There is a community of mind in it”: Quoting Shakespeare in the Eighteenth Century
title_full_unstemmed “There is a community of mind in it”: Quoting Shakespeare in the Eighteenth Century
title_short “There is a community of mind in it”: Quoting Shakespeare in the Eighteenth Century
title_sort there is a community of mind in it quoting shakespeare in the eighteenth century
topic Shakespeare
quoting
Johnson
Sterne
eighteenth-century fiction
url https://journals.openedition.org/1718/13655
work_keys_str_mv AT johnmullan thereisacommunityofmindinitquotingshakespeareintheeighteenthcentury