Scenes from ‘A Pastorall’ (1645)

Synopsis: 'A Pastorall’ written by two noblewomen, the sisters Lady Jane Cavendish and Lady Elizabeth Brackley, is a pastoral masque which uses the rural figures of shepherds and shepherdesses to explore the exceptional position occupied by aristocratic women during the English Civil War. This video offers a critical analysis of the piece with illustrations of specially-commissioned televised scenes. The chosen scenes, all from the main masque, are filmed int he gardens of the Renaissance palace of Hoghton Tower, Lancashire, an aristocratic home like that of the authors. They dramatise how the sister shepherdeses Innocence, Chastity, and Ver (or Spring) use the enclosed garden to preserve their independence, and how their authors rewrite the pastoral genre from a woman-centred perspective. The scenes offer examples of early modern women’s use of music and voiceover, and the commentary discusses the absent viewer and the television camera in relation tot he Cavendish sisters’ rewriting of masque tradition. The video is designed primarily for scholars and students of Renaissance drama.
Language: English
Country: Great Britain
Year of release: 2000
Year of production: 2000
Notes: A 1-2 minute video extract is available for viewing at http://www.lancs.ac.uk/depts/english/courses/357/videopastoral
Subjects: Drama
Keywords: drama in English; English civil war; Renaissance drama; women dramatists

Name: Lancaster University, Department of English
Email: a.g.findlay@lancaster.ac.uk shodgsonwright@chelt.ac.uk
Web: http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/fass/english/ External site opens in new window
Phone: 01524 382367
Fax: 01524 594247
Address: Attn. Dr Alison Findlay
Reader in Renaissance Drama
Department of English
Lancaster University
LA1 4YT

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