The Tainted Muse : Prejudice and Presumption in Shakespeare and his Time / Paul Henry Lang; George J. Buelow, Alfred Mann.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lang, Paul Henry, Author.

Contributor:

Buelow, George J., Editor.

Mann, Alfred, Editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616--Characters.

Shakespeare, William.

Prejudices in literature.

Misogyny in literature.

Stereotypes (Social psychology) in literature.

Characters and characteristics in literature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (vii, 280 p. )

Place of Publication:

New Haven, CT : Yale University Press, [2009]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This book is a masterful and engaging exploration of both Shakespeare's works and his age. Concentrating on six recurring prejudices in Shakespeare's plays-such as misogyny, elitism, distrust of effeminacy, and racism-Robert Brustein examines how Shakespeare and his contemporaries treated them. More than simply a thematic study, the book reveals a playwright constantly exploiting and exploring his own personal stances. These prejudices, Brustein finds, are not unchanging; over time they vary in intensity and treatment. Shakespeare is an artist who invariably reflects the predilections of his age and yet almost always manages to transcend them. Brustein considers the whole of Shakespeare's plays, from the early histories to the later romances, though he gives special attention to Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, and The Tempest. Drawing comparisons to plays by Marlowe, Middleton, and Marston, Brustein investigates how Shakespeare's contemporaries were preoccupied with similar themes and how these different artists treated the current prejudices in their own ways. Rather than confining Shakespeare to his age, this book has the wonderful quality of illuminating both what he shared with his time and what is unique about his approach.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

Introduction

1. Misogyny

2. Effemiphobia

3. Machismo

4. Elitism and Mobocracy

5. Racialism

6. Intelligent Design

Afterword

Notes

Selected Bibliography

Acknowledgments

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 24. Apr 2020)

ISBN:

9786612437540

9781282437548

1282437542

9780300155457

030015545X

OCLC:

503831319