Shakespeare by Victor G Kiernan
In this book the distinguished historian Victor Kiernan makes a case for seeing Shakespeare as a writer profoundly sensitive to the great social and political upheavals through which he lived. Shakespeare's poetic and dramatic achievement, Kiernan argues, was not something which transcended his environment but was directly enlarged by his civic consciousness and his critical reactions to a changing social fabric. Shakespeare's phase of dramatic activity coincides with the first challenges to the institution of monarchy. Kiernan analyses the cycle of History plays in the light of the demise of feudal allegiances and the emergence of the modern state apparatus. He shows how the far-reaching transformations in social hierarchy which simultaneously began to take place are crucial to an understanding of the Comedies, in which confusion of identity, disguise and cross-dressing are central. And he examines the ways in which women's roles are affected by this nascent individualism, especially in relation to the ideas of romantic love around which the Comedies revolve. Shakespeare: Poet and Citizen draws a vivid portrait of the outstanding dramatist of modernity. Lucid, scholarly and absorbing, it will be a rich resource for both students and the general reader.
Victor Kiernan is one of the best historians of seventeenth-century England, and he is also a sensitive literary criticThe combination of these gifts makes this book a remarkable achievement. It will become a classic. -- Christopher Hill
V.G. Kiernan is, as Edward Said observed, 'that great Scottish historian of empire'. A prolific writer, he has published work in areas ranging from Indian history to Marxist politics to Shakespeare. He lives in Edinburgh.
A Fellow of the British Academy and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Eric Hobsbawm is the author of more than twenty books of history, including The Age of Revolution and The Age of Extremes. He lives in London.
A Fellow of the British Academy and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Eric Hobsbawm is the author of more than twenty books of history, including The Age of Revolution and The Age of Extremes. He lives in London.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780860913924 |
| ISBN 10 | 0860913929 |
| Title | Shakespeare |
| Author | Victor G Kiernan |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Verso Books |
| Year published | 1993-02-17 |
| Number of pages | 270 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |