Gwynne Blakemore Evans (31 March 1912 – 23 December 2005) was an American scholar of

Elizabethan literature Elizabethan literature refers to bodies of work produced during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603), and is one of the most splendid ages of English literature. In addition to drama and the theatre, it saw a flowering of poetry, with ...

best known for editing the '' Riverside Shakespeare'' edition in 1974.

Biography

Evans was born on 31 March 1912 in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, an ...

to Marshall B. Evans, a scholar of the

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is also a ...

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best pub ...

. Gwynne graduated from that university in 1934. He then earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

from the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...

in 1936. He received his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

in 1940. In 2000

Albright College Albright College is a private liberal arts college in Reading, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1856. History Albright College traces its founding to 1856 when Union Seminary opened. Present-day Albright was formed by the mergers of several ins ...

awarded him an LL. D., ''honoris causa''. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Evans served in the Army Signal Corps Intelligence at

Bletchley Park Bletchley Park is an English country house and estate in Bletchley, Milton Keynes (Buckinghamshire) that became the principal centre of Allied code-breaking during the Second World War. The mansion was constructed during the years following ...

in England, a centre of Allied spying and decoding. After the war, Evans became a professor of English literature, working at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

, the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Uni ...

, and finally Harvard, where he became Cabot Professor. Evan's first book was ''The Plays and Poems of William Cartwright'' (1951), an edition of the obscure poet and playwright William Cartwright. He also edited ''Shakespearean Prompt-Books of the 17th Century'' (1960–80), a series of editions of rare promptbooks. His popular edition of Shakespeare's complete works, the ''Riverside Shakespeare'', was published in 1974 by

Houghton Mifflin The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...

, and remained the standard text of Shakespeare's works in university classrooms for the next quarter century. Evans co-edited an updated version in 1997. He also edited ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Bat ...

'' for the

New Penguin Shakespeare New Penguin Shakespeare is a series of the works of William Shakespeare published from 1967 to 1987 as an imprint of Penguin Books. Printed in paperback the editions were very popular in schools where they were used for teaching Shakespeare. Th ...

and ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with ''Ham ...

'' for the

New Cambridge Shakespeare ''The Cambridge Shakespeare'' is a long-running series of critical editions of William Shakespeare's works published by Cambridge University Press. The name encompasses three distinct series: ''The Cambridge Shakespeare'' (1863–1866), ''The N ...

. Evans's teaching style was simple and peculiarly effective. Working through Elizabethan and Jacobean drama, he offered quiet comment, but did so on the move, walking around the front of the class in a way that strangely contributed to one's attention to him. His courteous good nature seemed never to fail him. His seminars and proseminars usually met in his office, located next to Child Memorial Library, which houses the special collection of the Department of English and American Language and Literature located in Widener Library of Harvard University. The office, every surface covered with books and manuscripts, was a testament to Evans's scholarship. Indeed, even in old age Evans continued his habits as a scholar, stalking the corridors and stacks of Widener Library, steadily working. Evans died on December 23, 2005, aged 93.

Legacy

Evans's last book was ''The Poems of Robert Parry'', a study of the little-known poet Robert Parry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Gwynne Blakemore Shakespearean scholars Ohio State University alumni Harvard University alumni University of Cincinnati alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign faculty Harvard University faculty People from Columbus, Ohio United States Army personnel United States Army personnel of World War II 1912 births 2005 deaths