Customer Reviews

Madness and Drama in the Age of Shakespeare

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I need to thank Dr. Salkeld for his incredible book, "Madness and drama in the age of Shakespeare." After searching my university's library for weeks looking for scholarship on madness and politics in relation to early modern drama, nothing has compared to this book, which has given me incredible information on the links between madness and the state, the king's "body politic," and how this was used by Shakespeare and his contemporaries. The links Dr. Salkeld makes are enlightening, and gave me a knew appreciation for an even greater level of depth (especially in the links between madness, politics, and gender) in Shakespeare's plays.

Dr. Salkeld's book is clear, concise, extremely approachable, and filled with incredible information that is like nothing else out there. It is equally brilliant to undergraduate students like myself and those with PhDs. His ideas are still innovative today, and I recommend this book to anyone interested in Shakespeare, madness, politics, and/or Renaissance theater. A highly enjoyable and exciting read.

I was extremely relieved when I read Salkeld's research. His writing is clear, concise, and very organized compared to other writers in his field. Without a doubt, "Madness in the Age of Shakespeare" has clarified many areas that were previously confusing to me regarding the Renaissance understanding of madness, and how Shakespeare re-creates his own mad characters on stage. Salkeld claims that what literary critics need to do now is to see into the untruths madness confronts us with. A very original and persuasive argument.