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dumb show
dumb show a theatrical pantomime included as part of a drama, especially in Elizabethan works, from the middle of the 16th cent. well into the 17th cent. Whether presented as a spectacle, with music, or as a masque with the players as allegorical characters, the dumb show appeared as prologue, between the acts, or during the play itself. It usually either presaged the events of the play or interpreted them as a chorus does. |
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"dumb show." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 12 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "dumb show." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 12, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-dumbshow.html "dumb show." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 12, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-dumbshow.html |
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dumb show
dumb show, a piece of silent action or stage business, especially in the Elizabethan and Jacobean theatre. These shows, such as the one before the play scene in Hamlet, suggest by mime and symbolism what is shortly to take place and its meaning.
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Cite this article
MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "dumb show." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 12 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "dumb show." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (February 12, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-dumbshow.html MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "dumb show." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved February 12, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-dumbshow.html |
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