Digital Commons Network^™

Not By That Of Heaven: The Influence Of Theatre Lighting On The Early Works Of Charles Dickens, Grant Martin

All ETDs from UAB

Changes in technology in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries had a profound impact on the way lighting was manipulated in theatres. No longer a simple question of illuminating action, lighting became a dynamic and essential element of drama. As an enthusiast of theatre during this transition, a young Charles Dickens was influenced by the visual spectacle he saw in theatres, and that influence is evident in his early novels. Those narratives frequently employ specific descriptions of light and perspective, which are key components of Dickens’ unique and widely celebrated visual style. In the early novels explored here, we see how …