Jonson, Shakespeare and Early Modern Virgil [Hardcover]

Margaret Tudeau-Clayton (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 052158079X | ISBN-13: 978-0521580793 | Publication Date: October 13, 1998

In this wide-ranging and original study, Margaret Tudeau-Clayton examines how Virgil--the poet as well as his texts--was mediated in early modern England. She analyzes what was at stake in the reproduction and circulation of these mediations of Virgil, focusing specifically on the works of Ben Jonson and on one of Shakespeare's most resonantly Virgilian plays, The Tempest. She argues that the play offers a complex model of cultural and socio-political resistance by engaging critically not only with contemporary mediations of Virgil, but with the ways they were used, especially by Jonson, to reproduce structures of authority (in relation to nature and language as well as to the socio-political order). She also shows how instructive comparisons may be drawn between the ways Virgil was constructed and used in early modern England and the ways Shakespeare has been constructed and used, especially as national poet, from the early modern period until our own time.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Brilliant, learned, and exacting, the Tudeau-Clayton volume sets a new standard for its subjects." Studies in English Literature 1500-1900

"This study undertakes an extensive project: to survey the significance and function. within the literary culture of Renaissance England, of classical Rome's most influential poet. Inevitably, this task also forces Tudeau-Clayton to come to grips with the two most influential poets of Renaissance England itself. And likewise, while examining...subsidary matters, such as...the function of classical learning as a marker of social difference in the Renaissance. Drawing on an impressive fund...Tudeau-Clayton addresses...diverse matters in the space of 250 pages...exceptionally dense piece of work." Bruce Boehrer, Journal of English and Germanic Philology, January 2000

..."no reader can fail to value the scholarly findings that underlie Tudeau-Clayton's reading of Shakespeare." Modern Philosophy vol98/4

Book Description

This book examines how the writings of one of Western culture's foundational authors, Virgil, are represented and used in early modern England, particularly in the work of Ben Jonson and William Shakespeare. It shows how Jonson uses the authority of Virgil to reproduce and underwrite social hierarchies, while in The Tempest, Shakespeare interrogates and subverts this use of Virgil. It is a case study in cultural/social hegemony and resistance, which bears directly on the reproduction and use of Shakespeare today.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 280 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (October 13, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 052158079X
• ISBN-13: 978-0521580793
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,994,261 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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