Date of Award
Spring 5-26-2017
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
English
First Advisor
Gavin Hollis
Second Advisor
Cristina Alfar
Academic Program Adviser
Janet Neary
Abstract
"The Second Pen" evaluates the historical relevancy of prevalent monikers for William Shakespeare-- namely, "The Bard," "Swan of Avon," and "Upstart Crow." While Brennan finds the general concept of the moniker to encapsulate Shakespeare's current historical legacy, he equally finds the aforementioned monikers to misrepresent this. Brennan offers "The Second Pen" as a moniker for Shakespeare that redresses the distortions of the others. He concentrates his defense of its relevancy around a defense of William Shakespeare as the "second pen" which Ben Jonson's 1605 Sejanus quarto names as a collaborator in the writing of a preceding stage version of the drama.
Recommended Citation
Brennan, Nicholas D., "The Second Pen" (2017). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/hc_sas_etds/118