Shakespeare's Living Law: Theatrical, Lyrical, and Legal Practice

Abstract

Abstract This article examines the state of Shakespeare and Law studies in its early twenty‐first century incarnation. Departing from the long tradition of attending to the law's thematic resonance in Shakespeare's plays in order to extrapolate ahistorical ethical questions, critical work of the last decade has instead meticulously contextualized the literary texts in relation to an early modern legal culture that was a significant source of common experiences and accessible modes of analyzing experience. After an introduction to the scope of the field, the article zooms in on several key studies that explore the role of law in the development of Shakespeare's lyric and drama: I highlight works on the neglected topic of legal language in the Sonnets and on legal culture's contribution to dramatic narrative and mimetic innovation. I examine these projects in some detail in order to showcase critical methods that attend to the technicalities of both literary and legal language, concepts, forms, practices, and contexts with exceptional precision. I thereby situate the reader within a field that is rapidly coalescing by means of genuinely transformative contributions to Shakespeare studies and early modern legal history.

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