Includes bibliographical references (p. [311]-324) and index This book argues that Shakespeare was permanently preoccupied with the brutality, corruption, and ultimate groundlessness of the political order of his state, and that the impact of...
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Includes bibliographical references (p. [311]-324) and index This book argues that Shakespeare was permanently preoccupied with the brutality, corruption, and ultimate groundlessness of the political order of his state, and that the impact of original Tudor censorship, supplemented by the relatively depoliticizing aesthetic traditions of later centuries, have together obscured the consistent subversiveness of his work. Traditionally, Shakespeare's political attitudes have been construed either as primarily conservative, or as essays in richly imaginative ambiguation, irreducible to settled viewpoints. Fitter contends that government censorship forced su
Cover; Radical Shake speare Politics and Stage craft in the Early Career; Copyright; Contents; Acknowledgements; 1. Historical Foundations: The Black Nineties and the Tudor Richesse of Political Dissidence; 2. Theatrical Foundations: Performance Criticism and Transgressive Overdetermination; 3. 2 Henry VI: Jack Cade, the Hacket Rising and Shakespeare's Vision of Popular Rebellion; 4. 2 Henry VI: Contexts and Allusion; 5. 2 Henry VI: Political Stagecraft; 6. Carnival Dynamics and The Taming of the Shrew
7. "The Quarrel Is Between Our Masters And Us Their Men": Romeo and Juliet, Dearth, and the London Riots8. As You Like It: Political Topicality; 9. "Betrayed to Every Modern Censure": As You Like It and Vestry Values; 10. As You Like It Part Three: Dysresolution, Sexual Politics and the Public Sphere; 11. Conclusion; Notes; Bibliography; Index