Shakespearean tragedy as chivalric romance : rethinking Macbeth, Hamlet, Othello, and King Lear / Michael L. Hays.

By: Material type: TextTextSeries: Studies in Renaissance literature (Woodbridge, Suffolk, England) ; v. 12.Publication details: Cambridge Rochester, NY : D.S. Brewer, 2003.Description: ix, 225 pages ; 24 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 0859917886
  • 9780859917889
Subject(s): Genre/Form: DDC classification:
  • 822.3/3 21
LOC classification:
  • PR2983 .H395 2003
Online resources:
Contents:
Acknowledgments -- Tables and figure -- 1. Introduction -- 2. The survival of English chivalric romance -- 3. The significance of English chivalric romance -- 4. Macbeth : loyal stewards and royal succession -- 5. Hamlet : courtly revenge and chivalric justice -- 6. Othello : courtly love and chivalric justice -- 7. King Lear : courtly romance and chivalric restoration -- Bibliography -- Index.
Review: "Shakespearean Tragedy as Chivalric Romance: Rethinking Macbeth, Hamlet, Othello, and King Lear interprets these plays less as tragedies after their protagonists than as romances according to the figures and motifs coloring and shaping them." "The author counters the conventional wisdom and its biases against romance, and questions received opinion about literary genre and cultural history. He presents historical, bibliographic, and literary evidence for the resurgent vitality of chivalric romance at the end of Elizabeth's reign and the start of James's rule. This neo-chivalric revival featured chivalric romances or materials fashioned from them for the mixed purposes of popular entertainment and political expression." "In this context and for a theater company preferred by the throne, Shakespeare exploited chivalric romance to explore themes of governance, legitimacy, and succession in these plays. Although their protagonists are pre-eminent, they give way to improved polities and worthier successors. Their triumph represents an order which prevails because justice triumphs. Subordinating tragedy to romance, Shakespeare offered a tempered optimism about the outcome of contested issues."--Jacket.
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Item type Current library Call number Copy number Status Date due Barcode
Books Books Odessa College Stacks 822.33 DHS (Browse shelf(Opens below)) 1 Available 51994001556408

Includes bibliographical references (pages 211-220) and index.

Acknowledgments -- Tables and figure -- 1. Introduction -- 2. The survival of English chivalric romance -- 3. The significance of English chivalric romance -- 4. Macbeth : loyal stewards and royal succession -- 5. Hamlet : courtly revenge and chivalric justice -- 6. Othello : courtly love and chivalric justice -- 7. King Lear : courtly romance and chivalric restoration -- Bibliography -- Index.

"Shakespearean Tragedy as Chivalric Romance: Rethinking Macbeth, Hamlet, Othello, and King Lear interprets these plays less as tragedies after their protagonists than as romances according to the figures and motifs coloring and shaping them." "The author counters the conventional wisdom and its biases against romance, and questions received opinion about literary genre and cultural history. He presents historical, bibliographic, and literary evidence for the resurgent vitality of chivalric romance at the end of Elizabeth's reign and the start of James's rule. This neo-chivalric revival featured chivalric romances or materials fashioned from them for the mixed purposes of popular entertainment and political expression." "In this context and for a theater company preferred by the throne, Shakespeare exploited chivalric romance to explore themes of governance, legitimacy, and succession in these plays. Although their protagonists are pre-eminent, they give way to improved polities and worthier successors. Their triumph represents an order which prevails because justice triumphs. Subordinating tragedy to romance, Shakespeare offered a tempered optimism about the outcome of contested issues."--Jacket.

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