Shakespeare, politics, and Italy

Description:

The use of Italian culture in the Jacobean theatre was never an isolated gesture. In considering the ideological repercussions of references to Italy in prominent works by Shakespeare and his contemporaries, Michael J. Redmond argues that early modern intertextuality was a dynamic process of allusion, quotation, and revision. Beyond any individual narrative source, Redmond foregrounds the fundamental role of Italian textual precedents in the staging of domestic anxieties about state crisis, nationalism, and court intrigue. By focusing on the self-conscious, overt rehearsal of existing texts and genres, the book offers a new approach to the intertextual strategies of early modern English political drama. The pervasive circulation of Cinquecento political theorists like Machiavelli, Castiglione, and Guicciardini combined with recurrent English representations of Italy to ensure that the negotiantion with preious writing formed an integral part of the dramatic agendas of period plays. -- Publisher's notes from dust cover.

subjects: Intertextuality,  Italy,  Knowledge,  English drama,  History and criticism,  Italian influences,  In literature,  Politics in literature,  Shakespeare, william, 1564-1616,  English drama, history and criticism, early modern and elizabethan, 1500-1600,  Italy, in literature,  Shakespeare, william, 1564-1616, knowledge and learning,  English drama, history and criticism, 17th century,  English literature, foreign influences,  Théâtre anglais,  Histoire et critique,  Influence italienne,  Intertextualité,  LITERARY CRITICISM,  Shakespeare,  DRAMA,  Early modern and Elizabethan,  Literature