Radical Shakespeare

Politics and Stagecraft in the Early Career

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, Drama History & Criticism, British, Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science
Cover of the book Radical Shakespeare by Chris Fitter, Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Chris Fitter ISBN: 9781136575822
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: July 3, 2013
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author: Chris Fitter
ISBN: 9781136575822
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: July 3, 2013
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

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 superficial acquiescence upon Shakespeare in establishment ideologies — monarchic, aristocratic and patriarchal — that were enunciated through rhetorical set pieces, but that Shakespeare the dramatist learned from Shakespeare the actor a variety of creative methods for sabotaging those perspectives in performance in the public theatres. Using historical contextualizations and recuperation of original performance values, the book argues that Shakespeare emerged as a radical writer not in middle age with King Lear and Coriolanus — plays whose radicalism is becoming widely recognized — but from his outset, with Henry VI and Taming of the Shrew. Recognizing Shakespeare’s allusiveness to 1590s controversies and dissident thought, and recovering the subtextual politics of Shakespeare’s distinctive stagecraft reveals populist, at times even radical meaning and a substantially new, and astonishingly interventionist, Shakespeare.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

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 superficial acquiescence upon Shakespeare in establishment ideologies — monarchic, aristocratic and patriarchal — that were enunciated through rhetorical set pieces, but that Shakespeare the dramatist learned from Shakespeare the actor a variety of creative methods for sabotaging those perspectives in performance in the public theatres. Using historical contextualizations and recuperation of original performance values, the book argues that Shakespeare emerged as a radical writer not in middle age with King Lear and Coriolanus — plays whose radicalism is becoming widely recognized — but from his outset, with Henry VI and Taming of the Shrew. Recognizing Shakespeare’s allusiveness to 1590s controversies and dissident thought, and recovering the subtextual politics of Shakespeare’s distinctive stagecraft reveals populist, at times even radical meaning and a substantially new, and astonishingly interventionist, Shakespeare.

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book The Making of Modern Georgia, 1918-2012 by Chris Fitter
Cover of the book Dimensions of Psychotherapy, Dimensions of Experience by Chris Fitter
Cover of the book Engaging the Senses: Object-Based Learning in Higher Education by Chris Fitter
Cover of the book Grandparenting in the United States by Chris Fitter
Cover of the book Tourism and Poverty by Chris Fitter
Cover of the book Performance in Bali by Chris Fitter
Cover of the book Introductory Criminology by Chris Fitter
Cover of the book The Romantic Poets by Chris Fitter
Cover of the book Philosophies of Islamic Education by Chris Fitter
Cover of the book Managing Korean Business by Chris Fitter
Cover of the book Athlete Learning in Elite Sport by Chris Fitter
Cover of the book Celtic Myth: A Treasury of Legends, Art, and History by Chris Fitter
Cover of the book Japan and the Contemporary Middle East by Chris Fitter
Cover of the book The Circulation of Knowledge in Early Modern English Literature by Chris Fitter
Cover of the book Folk Art Potters of Japan by Chris Fitter
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy