How Shakespeare Put Politics on the Stage

Abstract

This book presents an analysis of how Shakespeare's plays intersected with the politics and culture of Elizabethan England. With an ageing, childless monarch, lingering divisions due to the Reformation, and the threat of foreign enemies, Shakespeare's England was fraught with unparalleled anxiety and complicated problems. The text reveals the extent to which Shakespeare's plays speak to the depth and sophistication of Elizabethan political culture and the Elizabethan imagination. The book shows the complex ways in which Shakespeare's major plays engaged with the events of his day, particularly regarding the uncertain royal succession, theological and doctrinal debates, and virtue and virtu in politics. Through his plays, the text demonstrates, Shakespeare was boldly in conversation with his audience about a range of contemporary issues.

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