The Lodger Shakespeare

In 1612 Shakespeare gave evidence at the Court of Requests in Westminster – it is the only occasion his spoken words are recorded. The case seems routine – a dispute over an unpaid marriage-dowry – but it opens up an unexpected window into the dramatist’s famously obscure life-story. Charles Nicholl applies a powerful biographical magnifying glass to this fascinating episode in Shakespeare’s life. Marshalling evidence from a wide variety of sources, including previously unknown documentary material on the Mountjoys, he conjures up a detailed and compelling description of the circumstances in which Shakespeare lived and worked, and in which he wrote such plays as Othello, Measure for Measure and King Lear.

In 1612, Shakespeare gave evidence in a court case at Westminster-and it is the only occasion on which his actual spoken words were recorded. In The Lodger Shakespeare, Charles Nicholl applies a powerful biographical magnifying glass to this fascinating but little-known episode in the Bard's life. Drawing on evidence from a wide variety of sources, Nicholl creates a compellingly detailed account of the circumstances in which Shakespeare lived and worked amid the bustle of early seventeenth-century London. This elegant, often unexpected exploration presents a new and original look at Shakespeare as he was writing such masterpieces as Othello, Measure for Measure, and King Lear.

This book presents original material which indicates that Aemilia Lanyer – female writer, feminist, and Shakespeare contemporary – is Shakespeare’s hidden and arguably most significant co-author. Once dismissed as the mere paramour of Shakespeare’s patron, Lord Hunsdon, she is demonstrated to be a most articulate forerunner of #MeToo fury. Building on previous research into the authorship of Shakespeare’s works, Bradbeer offers evidence in the form of three case studies which signal Aemilia’s collaboration with Shakespeare. The first case study matches the works of "George Wilkins" – who is currently credited as the co-author of the feminist Shakespeare play Pericles (1608) – with Aemilia Lanyer’s writing style, education, feminism and knowledge of Lord Hunsdon’s secret sexual life. The second case-study recognizes Titus Andronicus (1594), a play containing the characters Aemilius and Bassianus, to be a revision of the suppressed play Titus and Vespasian (1592), as authored by the unmarried pregnant Aemilia Bassano, as she then was. Lastly, it is argued that Shakespeare’s clowns, Bottom, Launce, Malvolio, Dromio, Dogberry, Jaques, and Moth, arise in her deeply personal war with the misogynist Thomas Nashe. Each case study reveals new aspects of Lanyer’s feminist activism and involvement in Shakespeare’s work, and allows for a deeper analysis and appreciation of the plays. This research will prove provocative to students and scholars of Shakespeare studies, English literature, literary history, and gender studies.

A polemical attack on the ways recent Shakespeare biographers have disguised their lack of information

A concise, accessible introduction to Shakespeare's life and work which focuses on what we know, assessing the differing theories and avoiding speculation.

Using both canonical and underappreciated texts, Alien Albion argues that early modern England was far less unified and xenophobic than literary critics have previously suggested. Juxtaposing literary texts from the period with legal, religious, and economic documents, Scott Oldenburg uncovers how immigrants to England forged ties with their English hosts and how those relationships were reflected in literature that imagined inclusive, multicultural communities. Through discussions of civic pageantry, the plays of dramatists including William Shakespeare, Thomas Dekker, and Thomas Middleton, the poetry of Anne Dowriche, and the prose of Thomas Deloney, Alien Albion challenges assumptions about the origins of English national identity and the importance of religious, class, and local identities in the early modern era.

Handfasting is quickly becoming a widely practiced tradition, not only for pagans, but for people from all walks of life. This book is a thorough resource that shares ritual scripts, sample vows, and all the information you need to plan your own ceremony or serve as a celebrant for others. In Modern Handfasting, you will discover the history, practicalities, legal considerations, logistics, and magic of the big day. Author Liz Williams—a priestess and longtime celebrant—guides you through opening the ceremony, creating a circle, consecration, calling the quarters, vows, tying the knot, and closing the ceremony. You will also discover tips and stories from other celebrants as well as practical information for finding a celebrant, early planning, troubleshooting, working with ceremonial tools, and choosing colors, dates, and other details with magical correspondences.

Shakespeare lebte in einem Zeitalter neuer Horizonte und großer Umbrüche. Bestsellerautor Ian Mortimer betrachtet das späte 16. Jahrhundert aus einer völlig neuen Perspektiven. Königin Elisabeth I., William Shakespeare, Sir Francis Bacon: Diese historischen Figuren sind zwar bestens bekannt, doch Ian Mortimer gelingt es auf besondere Weise, ihnen Leben einzuhauchen und das »Goldene Zeitalter« Englands so schillernd und greifbar darzustellen, als wäre er selbst durch die Straßen von London und Stratford gezogen. »Shakespeares Welt« untermalt Wissen nicht nur mit wundervollen Anekdoten, dieses Buch zeigt auch die Widersprüche und Abgründe dieser Zeit. Während die Königin ihre Flotte in neue Welten schickte, herrschten Krankheiten, Hungersnöte und Gewalt in den Straßen Englands. »Ein amüsanter und verständlicher Reiseführer durch vergangene Zeiten.« – Sunday Times Wer Geschichte verstehen will, muss in sie eintauchen und sie erleben. Geht es um das England des 16. Jahrhunderts, schafft dies kaum jemand besser als Ian Mortimer. »Shakespeares Welt« ist Reiseführer und Zeitmaschine, Nachschlagewerk und ein echter Spaß. Das neue Buch des Erfolgsautors von »Im Mittelalter« und »Zeiten der Erkenntnis« Ian Mortimer hat seinen Blick für alle Aspekte von Geschichte geschärft, die Menschen der heutigen Zeit begeistern und mitreißen. Er recherchiert genau, liebt die Details und nimmt sich als Erzähler dennoch zurück. Das macht seine Geschichtsbücher zu den unterschiedlichsten Epochen und Themen zu einem echten Lesevergnügen für Einsteiger und erfahrene Leserinnen und Leser.

Who was William Shakespeare? How much do we really know about him, and how much of what is believed is myth? This unique biography takes the reader step-by-step through Shakespeare's life, setting out the evidence and what we can reasonably infer about him. It reminds the reader about the world he lived in, such as that standard spelling of words did not exist in his time, and shows how we must think carefully before applying modern ideas to explain his life.

The Life of William Shakespeare is a fascinating and wide-ranging exploration of Shakespeare's life and works focusing on oftern neglected literary and historical contexts: what Shakespeare read, who he worked with as an author and an actor, and how these various collaborations may have affected his writing. Written by an eminent Shakespearean scholar and experienced theatre reviewer Pays particular attention to Shakespeare's theatrical contemporaries and the ways in which they influenced his writing Offers an intriguing account of the life and work of the great poet-dramatist structured around the idea of memory Explores often neglected literary and historical contexts that illuminate Shakespeare's life and works

Considering both Shakespeare's fellow writers as well as members of his acting company Shakespeare in Company offers a unique insight into the company kept by William Shakespeare and how it impacted on his writing.

Shakespeare Survey is a yearbook of Shakespeare studies and productions. Since 1948, the Survey has published the best international scholarship in English and many of its essays have become classics of Shakespeare criticism. Each volume is devoted to a theme, or play, or group of plays; each also contains a section of reviews of that year's textual and critical studies and of the year's major British performances. The theme for Volume 67 is 'Shakespeare's Collaborative Work'. The complete set of Survey volumes is also available online at http://www.cambridge.org/online/shakespearesurvey. This fully searchable resource enables users to browse by author, essay and volume, search by play, theme and topic, and save and bookmark their results.

Through analysis of 5 plays by Shakespeare, Paul Raffield examines what it meant to be a 'stranger' to English law in the late Elizabethan and early Jacobean period. The numbers of strangers increased dramatically in the late sixteenth century, as refugees fled religious persecution in continental Europe and sought sanctuary in Protestant England. In the context of this book, strangers are not only persons ethnically or racially different from their English counterparts, be they immigrants, refugees, or visitors. The term also includes those who transgress or are simply excluded by their status from established legal norms by virtue of their faith, sexuality, or mode of employment. Each chapter investigates a particular category of 'stranger'. Topics include the treatment of actors in late Elizabethan England and the punishment of 'counterfeits' (Measure for Measure); the standing of refugees under English law and the reception of these people by the indigenous population (The Comedy of Errors); the establishment of 'Troynovant' as an international trading centre on the banks of the Thames (Troilus and Cressida); the role of law and the state in determining the rights of citizens and aliens (The Merchant of Venice); and the disenfranchised, estranged position of the citizen in a dysfunctional society and an acephalous realm (King Lear). This is the third sole-authored book by Paul Raffield on the subject of Shakespeare and the Law. The others are Shakespeare's Imaginary Constitution: Late Elizabethan Politics and the Theatre of Law (2010) and The Art of Law in Shakespeare (2017), both published by Hart/Bloomsbury.

Shakespeare was fascinated by law, which permeated Elizabethan everyday life. The general impression one derives from the analysis of many plays by Shakespeare is that of a legal situation in transformation and of a dynamically changing relation between law and society, law and the jurisdiction of Renaissance times. Shakespeare provides the kind of literary supplement that can better illustrate the legal texts of the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. There was a strong popular participation in the system of justice, and late sixteenth-century playwrights often made use of forensic models of narrative. Uncertainty about legal issues represented a rich potential for causing strong reactions in the public, especially feelings concerning the resistance to tyranny. The volume aims at highlighting some of the many legal perspectives and debates emplotted in Shakespearean plays, also taking into consideration the many texts that have been produced during the latest years on law and literature in the Renaissance.

Der Band fragt nach der philosophischen, theologischen und ästhetischen Bedeutung von Vollkommenheit. Sein Hauptakzent liegt auf den Künsten des Mittelalters und der Frühen Neuzeit. Die Originalbeiträge aus den Fächern Anglistik, Romanistik, Germanistik und Theologie behandeln Werke von den Kirchenvätern über Gottfried von Straßburg, Dante, Petrarca und Shakespeare bis hin zu Andrew Marvell.

A fascinating case for the identity of Shakespeare’s beautiful young man SHAKESPEARE’S SONNETS ARE indisputably the most enigmatic and enduring love poems written in English. They also may be the most often argued-over sequence of love poems in any language. But what is it that continues to elude us? While it is in part the spellbinding incantations, the hide-and-seek of sound and meaning, it is also the mystery of the noble youth to whom Shakespeare makes a promise—the promise that the youth will survive in the breath and speech and minds of all those who read these sonnets. “How can such promises be fulfilled if no name is actually given?” Elaine Scarry asks. This book is the answer. Naming Thy Name lays bare William Shakespeare’s devotion to a beloved whom he not only names but names repeatedly in the microtexture of the sonnets, in their architecture, and in their deep fabric, immortalizing a love affair. By naming his name, Scarry enables us to hear clearly, for the very first time, a lover’s call and the beloved’s response. Here, over the course of many poems, are two poets in conversation, in love, speaking and listening, writing and writing back. In a true work of alchemy, Scarry, one of America’s most innovative and passionate thinkers, brilliantly synthesizes textual analysis, literary criticism, and historiography in pursuit of the haunting call and recall of Shakespeare’s verse and that of his (now at last named) beloved friend.

Despite the widespread popular sense that the Bible and the works of Shakespeare are the two great pillars of English culture, and despite the long-standing critical recognition that the Bible was a major source of Shakespeare's allusions and references, there has never been a full-length, critical study of the Bible in Shakespeare's plays. The Bible in Shakespeare addresses this serious deficiency. Early chapters describe the post-Reformation explosion of Bible translation and the development of English biblical culture, compare the Church and the theater as cultural institutions (particularly in terms of the audience's auditory experience), and describe in general terms Shakespeare's allusive practice. Later chapters are devoted to interpreting Shakespeare's use of biblical allusion in a wide variety of plays, across the spectrum of genres: King Lear and Job, Macbeth and Revelation, the Crucifixion in the Roman Histories, Falstaff's anarchic biblical allusions, and variations on Adam, Eve, and the Fall throughout Shakespeare's dramatic career, from Romeo and Juliet to The Winter's Tale. The Bible in Shakespeare offers a significant new perspective on Shakespeare's plays, and reveals how the culture of early modern England was both dependent upon and fashioned out of a deep engagement with the interpreted Bible. The book's wide-ranging and interdisciplinary nature will interest scholars in a variety of fields: Shakespeare and English literature, allusion and intertextuality, theater studies, history, religious culture, and biblical interpretation. With growing scholarly interest in the impact of religion on early modern culture, the time is ripe for such a publication.