Economies of early modern drama : Shakespeare, Jonson, and Middleton / Anne Enderwitz.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Enderwitz, Anne, author.

Contributor:

Horace Howard Furness Memorial Library (University of Pennsylvania)

Horace Howard Furness Memorial Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

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

Shakespeare, William.

Jonson, Ben, 1573?-1637--Criticism and interpretation.

Jonson, Ben.

Middleton, Thomas, -1627--Criticism and interpretation.

Middleton, Thomas.

Jonson, Ben, 1573?-1637.

Middleton, Thomas, -1627.

Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616.

Economics in literature.

Sociology in literature.

Genre:

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Physical Description:

viii, 268 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2023]

Summary:

"The monograph explores early modern theatre's fascination with economic praxis and affords new insights into how it responded to changing economic practices. It reviews discourses on household management and commerce to create a rich context for the discussion of socio-economic actions and transactions in Macbeth, Othello, and Timon of Athens, as well as in city comedies by Ben Jonson and Thomas Middleton. By approaching discourses on oeconomy and commerce as complementary, the book opens up a diverse field of socio-economic practices, including the gendered division of duties in the household, new modes of valuation and evolving credit instruments. Theatre provides unique access to this field. In contrast to practical and policy-oriented discourses, it addresses socio-economic change and its vicissitudes in a spirit of experimentation, testing the ethical limits of socio-economic action and accustoming audiences to the demands of a changing socio-economic reality. Theatre thus offers a vital contribution to the prehistory of political economy. On the London stages, self-interest emerges as a key motive of socio-economic action and theatre playfully explores its ambiguous status as a partly rational and partly excessive force that is both a new ordering force and has huge potential for social conflict"-- Provided by publisher.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 238-260) and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Horace Howard Furness Memorial Fund.

ISBN:

0192866818

9780192866813

OCLC:

1363101101