Background
Heilman, Robert Bechtold was born on July 18, 1906 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Son of Review Edgar James and Mary Alice (Bechtold) Heilman.
(In his earlier work on King Lear, Mr. Heilman combined a ...)
In his earlier work on King Lear, Mr. Heilman combined a number of critical procedures to form a new and important approach to Shakespearian criticism. His study of Othello displays the maturity of insight and skill in analysis the years have brought him in developing his critical method. Mr. Heilman takes account of stage effects; he traces out literal and symbolic meanings; he analyzes plot relationships; he examines characters in terms of both their psychological and their moral situations, and style in relation to both character and meaning. He traces some effects due to historical meanings which have now been lost by certain words, and he tries to measure the impact of the drama upon, and its significance for, the modern consciousness. Mr. Heilman argues that Othello is at once "a play about love" and "a poem about love," and endeavors to find out how the poetry modifies and even helps determine the nature of the whole. He looks at numerous aspects of "action" (physical activity, psychological movement, intellectual operations) and "language" (speech habits, image types, recurrency in both literal and figurative language), and examines the essentially "dramatic" function of all of these. He finds the dramatis personae interwoven in relationships which may be seen, from one point of view, as "plot" and, from another, as the embodiment of complex themes. He treats Othello and Iago as figures that are not only fitted to a given stage but also represent permanent aspects of humanity-Iago with his "strategies against the spiritual order" and Othello with his "readiness in the victim."
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(In this book Robert Bechtold Heilman adds another study t...)
In this book Robert Bechtold Heilman adds another study to the influential analysis of generic forms begun in Tragedy and Melodrama: Versions of Experience and continued in The Iceman, the Arsonist, and the Troubled Agent: Tragedy and Melodrama on the Modern Stage. In the words of the author, "It is impossible to explore tragedy (as the conflict within the moral nature of man) and melodrama (as the external conflict between different men and groups) without also developing some ideas about the territory of comedy in the wide human terrain occupied by these dramatic types. Probing some of the major traditional theories of comedy, Professor Heilman reveals their limitations as comprehensive generic views, and differentiates comedy from other forms, such as satire, which are sometimes confused with it. Although comedy, like melodrama, is concerned primarily with the world itself rather than with inner life, there is a fundamental distinction in the attitude toward the world that typifies each genre. The comic attitude -- affirmative, conciliatory, accepting the disparate, and acknowledging the habitual and incurable ironies of life in the world -- is examined in detail. Working from the assumption that the idea of genre is a way into the play, and at the same time all the plays provide a way into the genre, the author not only advances major theoretical points about comedy but also offers practical criticism of a broad spectrum of individual plays -- ranging from farce to high comedy to black comedy and from the time of Aristophanes to the present. Especially notable are new analyses of Synge's "Playboy of the Western World" and of three quite different Shakespearean plays, including the problematic "Measure for Measure." Professor Heilman also identifies the comic attitude in plays not generally considered as comedy, such as Gorky's "The Zykovs" and Giraudoux's "Electra." In conclusion the author moves his theory of comedy into the range of nonliterary life, sketching the kinds of attitudes that are hostile to comedy and canvassing the profound issue of comedy as both a symptom and agent of civilization. A series of valuable appendixes survey studies of comedy since the 1930s, summarizing each work and noting the similarities and differences between them.
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(This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of th...)
This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.
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( The Ghost on the Ramparts presents fourteen of R. B. He...)
The Ghost on the Ramparts presents fourteen of R. B. Heilman's essays on the teaching of English and the profession of the humanities. These essays deal with such diverse topics as administrative ways and means, pedagogical shibboleths and heresies, uses and abuses of literacy, clichés of style, moot issues of history and criticism, and above all the nature of the humanities and their continuing significance. The persuasive discussions of all these subjects reflect the author's wide professional experience, his wit and wisdom, and his superb sense of style. The chairman of a distinguished English department for over twenty years, Heilman well knew the ins and outs of administration. He considers not only the practical problems of maintaining a large department but also the more complex matters involving a chairman's attitude toward deans, toward colleagues of many kinds, and toward oneself as a committed teacher and administrator. Also a literary critic of established reputation, Heilman's explicative side appears in most of these essays as he provides illustrative examples from many different sources while discussing the nature of history and criticism in the humanities. The unity of these essays is no less impressive than the mind of their maker, who instances a remarkable capacity for seeing life in the humanities steadily and whole.
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Heilman, Robert Bechtold was born on July 18, 1906 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Son of Review Edgar James and Mary Alice (Bechtold) Heilman.
Bachelor of Arts, Lafayette College, 1927; teaching fellow in English, Tufts College, 1927-1928; A.M., Ohio State University, 1930; A.M., Harvard University, 1931; Doctor of Philosophy, Harvard University, 1935; Doctor of Letters (honorary), Lafayette College, 1967; Doctor of Letters (honorary), University of South, 1978; honorary Doctor of Laws, Grinnell College, 1971; Doctor of Humane Letters (honorary), Kenyon College, 1973; Doctor of Humanities (honorary), Whitman College, 1977.
Instructor in English, Ohio U., 1928-1930; Instructor in English, U. Maine, 1931-1933, 1934-1935; instructor English, Louisiana State University, 1935-1936; assistant professor, Louisiana State University, 1936-1942; associate professor, Louisiana State University, 1942-1946; professor, Louisiana State University, 1946-1948; professor, U. Washington, 1948-1976; department chairman English, U. Washington, 1948-1971; Arnold professor, Whitman College, 1977.
(In this book Robert Bechtold Heilman adds another study t...)
(This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of th...)
(This is a new release of the original 1937 edition.)
( The Ghost on the Ramparts presents fourteen of R. B. He...)
( The Ghost on the Ramparts presents fourteen of R. B. He...)
(In his earlier work on King Lear, Mr. Heilman combined a ...)
(Book by Heilman, Robert B.)
Trustee Seattle Repertory Theatre, 1979-1982. Member International Association University professors English, Modern Language Association (member of national executive council 1966-1969), National Council Teachers English (Distinguished lecturer 1968), Philological Association Pacific Coast (president 1959), American Association of University Professors (member of national council 1962-1965), Shakespeare Association American (annual lecturer 1973, trustee 1977-1980), Phi Beta Kappa (senator 1967-1985, Executive Committee 1973-1982, visiting scholar 1982-1983).
Married Ruth Delavan Champlin, July 31, 1935. 1 son, Champlin Bechtold.