Shakespeare and republicanism / Andrew Hadfield.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hadfield, Andrew, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616--Political and social views.

Shakespeare, William.

Republicanism--England--History--16th century.

Republicanism.

Republicanism in literature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xv, 363 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

Shakespeare & Republicanism

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2005.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This groundbreaking work, first published in 2005, reveals exactly how Shakespeare was influenced by contemporary strands in political thought that were critical of the English crown and constitution. Shakespeare has often been seen as a conservative political thinker characterised by an over-riding fear of the 'mob'. Hadfield argues instead that Shakespeare's writing emerged out of an intellectual milieu fascinated by republican ideas. From the 1590s onwards, he explored republican themes in his poetry and plays: political assassination, elected government, alternative constitutions, and, perhaps most importantly of all, the problem of power without responsibility. Beginning with Shakespeare's apocalyptic representation of civil war in the Henry VI plays, Hadfield provides a series of powerful new readings of Shakespeare and his time. For anyone interested in Shakespeare and Renaissance culture, this book is required reading.

Contents:

Was Shakespeare a republican?

Republican culture in the 1590s

Forms of republican culture in late sixteenth-century England

Literature and republicanism in the age of Shakespeare

Shakespeare and Republicanism

Shakespeare's early republican career

Shakespeare's Pharsalia: the first tetralogy

The beginning of the republic: Venus and Lucrece

The end of the republic: Titus Andronicus and Julius Caesar

The radical Hamlet

After the republican moment.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references (p. 314-355) and index.

ISBN:

1-107-14480-9

1-280-22392-8

0-511-13017-1

0-511-19996-1

0-511-13054-6

0-511-30045-X

0-511-48360-0

0-511-12901-7

OCLC:

62076019