Literary Criticism - General & Miscellaneous, British Law - General & Miscellaneous, Psychology & Literature

Service and Dependency in Shakespeare's Plays

Name: Service and Dependency in Shakespeare's Plays
Author: Judith Weil
ISBN: 9780521101059

by Judith Weil

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Overview

This is an unusual study of the nature of service and other types of dependency and patronage in Shakespeare's drama. By considering the close associations of service with childhood or youth, marriage and friendship, Judith Well sheds new light on social practice and dramatic action. Approached as dynamic explorations of a familiar custom, the plays are shown to demonstrate a surprising consciousness of obligations and a fascination with how dependants actively change each other. They help us understand why early modern people may have found service both frightening and enabling. Attentive to a range of historical sources and to social and cultural issues, Will also emphasizes the linguistic ambiguities created by service relationships and their rich potential for interpretation on the stage. The book presents close readings of dramatic sequences in twelve plays, including Hamlet, Macbeth, The Taming of the Shrew, and King Lear.

Synopsis

A study into how service interacted with other forms of dependency in Shakespeare's drama.

About the Author, Judith Weil

Judith Weil has recently retired from the post of Professor of English at the University of Manitoba. Co-editor, with her husband Herbert Weil, of 'The First Part of King Henry IV' (Cambridge, 1997), she has published widely on Shakespeare and Renaissance drama, including essays in 'Marlowe, History and Sexuality: New Essays on the Life and Writings of Christopher Marlowe', ed. Paul Whitfield White, 'Renaissance Female Tragic Heroines', ed. Naomi Conn Liebler and 'Approaches to Teaching English Renaissance Drama', ed. Alexander Leggatt and Karen Bamford.