Existing comment:
Shakespeare and Westward Expansion
"This volume left for California March 15th 1849 via the way of the plains . . ."
The new country expanded westward in the 19th century, offering land and economic opportunities for settlers from the East Coast, and for immigrants from a variety of countries. Shakespeare went with them - sometimes in copies of his plays carried over the plains, and sometimes in performances by the actors who followed. Lured by the money that could be made in the mining camps and in cities such as Louisville and San Francisco, these professional actors often performed with casts drawn from local groups on makeshift stages, as well as in real theaters.
Various acting troupes along the Mississippi River performed on barges or at landings. Later in the century, Mark Twain made fun of these rough Shakespeareans in Huckleberry Finn. He also showed how broadly Shakespeare's language had spread within the American consciousness when he told the story of the "king" and the "duke" who perform a garbled version of Shakespeare to a naive audience along the river. The topics of the plays - love, murder, politics, revenge, jealousy - all spoke vividly to popular audiences. |