Shakespeare's body parts : figuring sovereignty in the history plays / Huw Griffiths.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Griffiths, Huw, 1970- author.

Series:

Edinburgh scholarship online.

Edinburgh scholarship online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616--Criticism and interpretation.

Shakespeare, William.

Human body in literature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (160 pages).

Place of Publication:

Edinburgh : Edinburgh University Press, [2020]

Summary:

This title provides a sustained, formalist reading of the multiple body parts that litter the dialogue and action of Shakespeare's history plays, including Henry V, Richard III, Richard II, King John and Henry IV. With a starting point in literary critical analyses of these dislocated bodies, the book tracks Shakespeare's relentless pursuit of a specific political question: how does human flesh, blood and bone relate to sovereignty? Griffiths advances our understanding of how human bodies are captured by - and escape - the grip of political systems.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgements

Introduction: The Baroque Body Parts of Henry VI Part Two

1. Richard II as Robinson Crusoe: Sovereignty and the Impossibility of Solitude

2. Necks, Throats and Windpipes in Henry V: Sovereignty Translated

3. Prosthetic Hands in King John

4. Copious Sovereignty in the Henry IV Plays

5. ‘My kingdom for a horse’: Bestial Sovereignty in Richard III

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Previously issued in print: 2020.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-4744-9086-7

1-4744-4872-0

OCLC:

1312726054