Shakespeare, 'A Lover's Complaint', and John Davies of Hereford (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: plaintfull story, watrie eies, stand aloofe, Lover's Complaint, Wittes Pilgrimage, Humours Heav'n (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Vickers's scholarship is meticulous and convincing."
-Catherine Gimelli Martin, University of Memphis, Studies in English Literature

"It's hardly possible not to be convinced (swept away even) by the thoroughness and passion of Vickers's argument. I'm happy to acknowledge myself a convert...An invaluable section of the book demonstrates the degree to which Shakespeare's alleged linguistic innovations can be found all over the place in that 'remarkably fruitful period of linguistic expansion' in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries."
- Michael Taylor, Shakespeare Survey Vol. 61

Product Description

When Shakespeare's Sonnets were published in 1609 a poem called A Lover's Complaint was included by the publisher, Thomas Thorpe, who was notorious for several irregular publications. Many scholars have doubted its authenticity, but recent editions of the Sonnets have accepted it as Shakespeare's work. Now Vickers, in the first full study of the poem, shows it to be un-Shakespearian both in its language and in its attitude to women. It is awkwardly constructed and uses archaic Spenserian diction, including many unusual words that never occur in Shakespeare. It frequently repeats stock phrases and rhymes, distorts normal word order far more often and more clumsily than Shakespeare did, while its attitude to female frailty is moralizing and misogynistic. By close analysis Vickers attributes the poem to John Davies of Hereford (1565-1618), a famous calligrapher and writing-master who was also a prolific poet. Vickers' book will re-define the Shakespeare canon.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 342 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (March 5, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521859123
• ISBN-13: 978-0521859127
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: No customer reviews yet. Be the first.
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #456,502 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)