Male Friendship in Shakespeare and his Contemporaries / Thomas MacFaul.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

MacFaul, Tom.

Series:

Cambridge books online.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Male friendship in literature.

English literature--Early modern, 1500-1700--History and criticism.

English literature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (236 pages) : digital, PDF file(s)

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2007.

System Details:

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

text file

PDF

Summary:

Renaissance Humanism developed a fantasy of friendship in which men could be absolutely equal to one another, but Shakespeare and other dramatists quickly saw through this rhetoric and developed their own ideas about friendship more firmly based on a respect for human difference. They created a series of brilliant and varied fictions for human connection, as often antagonistic as sympathetic, using these as a means for individuals to assert themselves in the face of social domination. Whilst the fantasy of equal and permanent friendship shaped their thinking, dramatists used friendship most effectively as a way of shaping individuality and its limitations. Dealing with a wide range of Shakespeare's plays and poems, and with many works of his contemporaries, this study gives readers a deeper insight into a crucial aspect of Shakespeare's culture and his use of it in art.

Contents:

1 True friends? 1

2 Momentary mutuality in Shakespeare's Sonnets 30

3 Friends and brothers 48

4 Love and friendship 65

5 Servants 91

6 Political friendship 116

7 Fellowship 141

8 False friendship and betrayal 169

9 Conclusion: 'Time must friend or end' 196.

Notes:

Title from publishers bibliographic system (viewed on 02 Mar 2012).

Other Format:

Print version:

ISBN:

9780511483738

9780521869041

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.