Treason by Words by Rebecca Lemon
Lemon investigates the remarkable phrase, "treason by words," both as a legal charge and as a cultural event under the Tudor monarchy.
It may be that, as the republican theorists of Ancient Rome and Early Modern England understood, tyranny does not consist in an overly rigid enforcement of the law, but on the replacement of the objective laws of logic by arbitrary laws such as those of the marketplace, individual whim, or mere fictionWhen this happens, rhetoric becomes a legal matter, certain kinds of statement become criminal, and the notion of 'treason by words' gains new currency. Treason by Words examines the consequences of such a development. Its analysis is incisive and its warnings timely.
* Times Literary Supplement *Lemon points out that the arguments in favor of Richard II's deposition that Hayward puts into the mouth of the Archbishop of Canterbury echo the arguments for Elizabeth's deposition. Lemon indicates how the controversy surrounding Haywards's subsequent prosecution produced competing definitions of treason and sovereignty. Lemon's book provides valuable New Historical leverage on how early modern English writers dealt with the problem of treason and tyranny, a problem becoming familiar again.
* Renaissance Quarterly *Rebecca Lemon is Associate Professor of English at the University of Southern California.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780801474491 |
| ISBN 10 | 0801474493 |
| Title | Treason by Words |
| Author | Rebecca Lemon |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Cornell University Press |
| Year published | 2007-12-14 |
| Number of pages | 256 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |