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    Arnold Wesker (1932-2016)
    (The Literary Dictionary Company Limited, 2004-12-07) Etienne, Anne; Kennedy , Nicole; Lyle, Gina; MacPhee , Graham; Myler, Kerry; Ramone, Jenni
    One of the foremost playwrights of his generation, Arnold Wesker is considered something of an outsider in England, an assertion made by critics Ronald Bryden in 1966 and Michael Billington in 2000. Wesker is never where the audience, or the Establishment, expects him to be. He is not an agent provocateur, but a writer for whom words should be bridges, meant to prompt action. Acclaimed for his first five plays, his trademark experimentation with style has created some resistance from critics and public alike. He has written 44 plays to date, as well as short stories, film and television scripts, poetry and the essays collected in Fears of Fragmentation, which describe his vision of Centre 42, Distinctions and Wesker on Theatre. He is currently finishing his first novel. However, only two of his plays (Caritas, 1980, and Love Letters on Blue Paper, 1976) have been produced at the National Theatre. In addition, his chance at a Broadway opening foundered with the death of Zero Mostel, the star actor in Shylock (1976), his version of The Merchant of Venice.
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    Lane-ism: Anthony Trollope’s Irish roads in time and space
    (Edinburgh University Press, 2018) Connolly, Claire; Van Dam, Frederik; Skilton, David; Graef, Ortwin
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    ‘It's remarkable how often [madness and brilliance] coincide’: An analysis of the characters, Captain Jack Sparrow and Tarrant Hightopp, as alternate depictions of masculinity
    (Emerald Publishing Ltd., 2024-09-16) Brassil, Ailish Kate; Le Clue, Natalie
    In fairy tales, male heroes typically come from royalty and villains are categorised as pirates, evil Kings, various animal and supernatural creatures, for example, Scar, the Beast, Rumpelstiltskin, and Bluebeard. In Pirates of the Caribbean (2003), Captain Jack Sparrow lacks the villainous qualities that come from Disney's predecessor, Captain Hook. However, Jack does not possess the classic qualities of a prince. He tries to be heroic when he rescues Elizabeth Swann but turns on her to excel in his own motives. With beads in his hair, his eyes lined with kohl, and a love for accessories, Jack's appearance distorts traditional notions of masculinity. In Alice in Wonderland (2010), Tarrant Hightopp (Mad Hatter) is an untraditional character who has become detached from reality. His madness, which is evident through his clothes, speech, and actions, comes from the destruction of his family. Jack and Hatter invert the expected order of things, ‘Now up is down’ (Verbinski, 2007). Their hats appear to be symbols of their obscure masculinity. Although they are both played by Johnny Depp, the Hatter and Captain Jack Sparrow possess unconventional male attributes which make them unlikely heroic characters. They offer a fluid perspective on the ever-changing aspects of masculinity. Unconventionality is becoming increasingly popular in Disney works. Therefore, this chapter aims to analyse two non-traditional male fairy tale characters with an emphasis on their fashion choices, lack of true love endeavours and unconventional heroic actions.
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    'Whole Swarms of Bastards’: A Modest Proposal, the discourse of economic improvement and Protestant masculinity in Ireland, 1720–1738
    (Palgrave Macmillan, 2019-01-22) Ó Gallchoir, Clíona; Barr, R. A.; Brady, S.; McGaughey, J.
    This chapter analyses how masculinity figures in the attempts to claim and legitimate authority in the contested space of eighteenth-century Ireland. Focusing on Irish economic discourses and the ideology of improvement in the period from 1720 to 1738, the chapter argues that economic underperformance threatens the Anglo-Irish self-image of effective leadership and governance. It shows how Ascendancy masculinity was challenged by its own imaginings of agricultural sterility, Catholic super-fecundity, and female unruliness. The essay reads Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal (1729) as a satiric response to a contemporary body of pamphlet literature, but also as an influence on economist Samuel Madden, whose Reflections and Resolutions Proper for the Gentlemen of Ireland (1738) provides an example of satire influencing the very forms it parodies.