Shakespeare and republicanism
History and Cultural Materialism
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8102778 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Amelia Hadfield (0000-0003-1608-9524, corresponding author), Andrew Hadfield |
| Year | 2003 |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 461-483 |
| Publication date | 2003-11-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Textual Practice (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0950-236X • E-ISSN: 1470-1308 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/0950236032000140087 |
| OpenAlex | W2064533746 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
This article argues that Shakespeare studies has been limited by a lack of interest in political analysis and discussion, even though many critics profess that their work is seriously concerned with political issues. The field has become dominated by identity politics and the theoretical exploration of the self, legitimate concerns for a politicized criticism. However, as a result, analysis of political institutions and political treatises has been neglected, leaving debates dependent on insights produced in the 1980s, with discussions of politics often taking place without any curiosity about politics in early modern England. An analysis of Shakespeare's writing and career, read in terms of contemporary political arguments, indicates that he was not the apologist for absolutism that critics of both Left and Right have generally conceived. His early histories, The Rape of Lucrece and Titus Andronicus, suggest that he was keenly aware of the political debates and problems that dominated public life in England in the 1590s. Furthermore, they indicate a sophisticated awareness of comparative political analysis, and a well-developed understanding of republicanism. Republicanism in the late sixteenth century could not easily be equated with republicanism as it appeared in the 1640s – one reason why earlier forms have been overlooked or denied by historians – and concentrated on limiting the power of the monarch, rather than overthrowing him or her, and developing institutions that would protect the liberty of the people. Reading Shakespeare's works in the light of such history and theory is a way of returning to the political agenda announced by cultural materialists in the 1980s, and attempting to rediscover a public form of literary and cultural analysis
Absolute monarchy · Criticism · Environmental ethics · Political philosophy · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Sociology · Historical Art and Culture Studies · Irish and British Studies · Shakespeare, Adaptation, and Literary Criticism · Law · Philosophy
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,19 |
| Citation span | 2005 - 2025 (21) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |