# Edmund Kean — Table-Talk character guide

> Edmund Kean in Table-Talk by William Hazlitt.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Mr. Kean, Kean, himself

**First appearance:** 0027-volume-ii-whether-actors-ought-to-sit-in-the-boxes

## Snapshot

The era's most electrifying tragic actor, whose raw stage presence Hazlitt treats as a test case for what theatre can and cannot do with a living face.

## Who they are

Kean belongs to the world of the pit and the green room, the professional whose art Hazlitt dissects with the same seriousness he gives to Shakespeare. The tension is between the actor's craving for offstage admiration and the absurdity of a tragedian glimpsed in a coat and waistcoat among the boxes. Hazlitt's argument that actors should watch rivals from the pit, close as painters to a canvas, turns Kean into a lens for the book's running quarrel between performance and authenticity.

## Relationships

### [William Hazlitt](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/table_talk_se/characters/william_hazlitt)

_professional_

Hazlitt was a theater critic who extensively reviewed Kean's performances, often praising his genius while noting his flaws.

## In the story

### [On Genius and Common Sense](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/table_talk_se/chapters/volume-i-on-genius-and-common-sense)

Mentioned for his performance as Richard III, where he borrowed a gesture from a boxing match.

### [On Vulgarity and Affectation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/table_talk_se/chapters/volume-i-on-vulgarity-and-affectation)

Mentioned in the context of provincial versus London acclaim; Hazlitt suggests Janus would only admire Kean after London approval.

### [Whether Actors Ought to Sit in the Boxes?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/table_talk_se/chapters/volume-ii-whether-actors-ought-to-sit-in-the-boxes)

Mentioned as one of the actors who should not obtrude themselves voluntarily when out of character.

### [On Patronage and Puffing](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/table_talk_se/chapters/volume-ii-on-patronage-and-puffing)

Mentioned as a theatrical favorite whose popularity was defended against claims of mere novelty.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/table_talk_se/characters/edmund_kean
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/table_talk_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/table_talk_se/characters