‘Heaven Better Informed Tonight’
“Professor Emeritus David Bevington, the extraordinarily prolific editor of Shakespeare’s full canon and author of seminal books about English Renaissance playwrights, died peacefully at home in Chicago on Aug. 2. He was 88 years old,” the University of Chicago said Monday.
“Remembered by friends and family as a vibrant, generous and intellectually inquisitive man, the longtime University of Chicago professor possessed an infectious enthusiasm for the works he taught. He lived life with boundless energy – teaching, writing, hosting social events and playing chamber music with friends until just before he died.
“As a scholar, Bevington helped build UChicago’s Department of English Language and Literature into a national center for graduate study in the English Renaissance.”
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“When possible, Bevington opted to teach class in the large Edward M. Sills Seminar Room, which features a large, oval table accommodating several dozen, rather than in a more traditional classroom in which all the students might face a lectern. He felt this format fosters greater participation and discussion among students, and went out of his way to encourage the sharing of ideas and opinions. However, because so many students elected to take his popular classes, the room at times became overfull,” according to his Wikipedia page.
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Rapid Fire Questions.
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Having a long, lovely Sunday stroll with the great sage David Bevington. He’s helped me grasp things I’ve never realized about my work.
— William Shakespeare (@Shakespeare) August 4, 2019
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Mourning the loss of David Bevington, who died yesterday. He was emeritus professor of English @UChicago, a generous teacher and friend, a passionate musician, and one of the great Shakespeare and Jonson scholars of his time. pic.twitter.com/wJ10zqSfxn
— Alan Thomas (@alnthomas) August 4, 2019
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RIP David Bevington. Heaven will be better informed tonight.
— Laurie Johnson (@LostPlayhouse) August 5, 2019
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David Bevington was a gifted scholar and an industrious editor with a kind and generous soul. The world is a little darker for his passing.
— 𝕭𝖗𝖊𝖙𝖙 𝕲𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖙𝖑𝖊𝖞-𝕳𝖎𝖗𝖘𝖈𝖍 (@nonsanzmustarde) August 4, 2019
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I’m sorry to hear about David Bevington’s death. His work was so important to me in grad school. I was on a panel with him when I was a very junior scholar and he was so kind & friendly & gracious. A superb scholar and a very nice man.
— notoriousSGB (@SGUYBRAY) August 4, 2019
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1) I’m so sad to hear of David Bevington’s death. He was good enough to look over a book I was revising and editing a couple of years ago. His thorough and helpful advice made such a difference to me. I never had the pleasure to meet him – in our last email exchange…
— Amy Scott (@AtivanGirl) August 4, 2019
Posted on August 6, 2019