Historical Topicality in Arnold Bennett and Edward Knoblock’s Milestones

Arnold Bennett was one of the key figures of early twentieth century British literature. However, although literary criticism has engaged with his novels, his dramatic oeuvre remains a blind spot in scholarship. In this article, I want to lay out the subtleties of his play Milestones (1912), which h...

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Autor principal: Lukas Klik
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Publicado: Presses Universitaires de la Méditerranée 2021
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Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/7fdca7a6a3f543e08e098bbf4d8cd559
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spelling oai:doaj.org-article:7fdca7a6a3f543e08e098bbf4d8cd5592021-12-02T10:08:59ZHistorical Topicality in Arnold Bennett and Edward Knoblock’s Milestones0220-56102271-614910.4000/cve.9994https://doaj.org/article/7fdca7a6a3f543e08e098bbf4d8cd5592021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttp://journals.openedition.org/cve/9994https://doaj.org/toc/0220-5610https://doaj.org/toc/2271-6149Arnold Bennett was one of the key figures of early twentieth century British literature. However, although literary criticism has engaged with his novels, his dramatic oeuvre remains a blind spot in scholarship. In this article, I want to lay out the subtleties of his play Milestones (1912), which he wrote in collaboration with Edward Knoblock. In particular, I show that the text is characterised by an intense interest in minute detail, which manifests itself through a high number of topical allusions to political, cultural and social issues. Moreover I also consider these references in the context of the aim of the playwrights in writing the play more generally. Here, I suggest that the topical allusions serve to underpin the play’s main point about the necessity to accept change, especially with regard to the role of women, by illustrating the inevitability of change. Through its interest in Bennett’s dramatic contributions, this article, then, seeks to complicate our understanding of British drama at the turn of the twentieth century.Lukas KlikPresses Universitaires de la MéditerranéearticleBennett (Arnold)Edwardian dramahistoryKnoblock (Edward)topicalityHistory of Great BritainDA1-995ENFRCahiers Victoriens et Edouardiens, Vol 94 (2021)
institution DOAJ
collection DOAJ
language EN
FR
topic Bennett (Arnold)
Edwardian drama
history
Knoblock (Edward)
topicality
History of Great Britain
DA1-995
spellingShingle Bennett (Arnold)
Edwardian drama
history
Knoblock (Edward)
topicality
History of Great Britain
DA1-995
Lukas Klik
Historical Topicality in Arnold Bennett and Edward Knoblock’s Milestones
description Arnold Bennett was one of the key figures of early twentieth century British literature. However, although literary criticism has engaged with his novels, his dramatic oeuvre remains a blind spot in scholarship. In this article, I want to lay out the subtleties of his play Milestones (1912), which he wrote in collaboration with Edward Knoblock. In particular, I show that the text is characterised by an intense interest in minute detail, which manifests itself through a high number of topical allusions to political, cultural and social issues. Moreover I also consider these references in the context of the aim of the playwrights in writing the play more generally. Here, I suggest that the topical allusions serve to underpin the play’s main point about the necessity to accept change, especially with regard to the role of women, by illustrating the inevitability of change. Through its interest in Bennett’s dramatic contributions, this article, then, seeks to complicate our understanding of British drama at the turn of the twentieth century.
format article
author Lukas Klik
author_facet Lukas Klik
author_sort Lukas Klik
title Historical Topicality in Arnold Bennett and Edward Knoblock’s Milestones
title_short Historical Topicality in Arnold Bennett and Edward Knoblock’s Milestones
title_full Historical Topicality in Arnold Bennett and Edward Knoblock’s Milestones
title_fullStr Historical Topicality in Arnold Bennett and Edward Knoblock’s Milestones
title_full_unstemmed Historical Topicality in Arnold Bennett and Edward Knoblock’s Milestones
title_sort historical topicality in arnold bennett and edward knoblock’s milestones
publisher Presses Universitaires de la Méditerranée
publishDate 2021
url https://doaj.org/article/7fdca7a6a3f543e08e098bbf4d8cd559
work_keys_str_mv AT lukasklik historicaltopicalityinarnoldbennettandedwardknoblocksmilestones
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