Late Shakespeare, 1608–1613

Andrew J. Power, Rory Loughnane

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN:
  9781107016194
• eBook ISBN:
  9781139786379
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: English Literary Criticism
• Index: Literature

In fourteen specially commissioned chapters by leading Shakespeare scholars from around the globe, Late Shakespeare, 1608–1613 provides an essential reappraisal of the final phase of Shakespeare's writing life. Arranged for the first time in the best-established chronological sequence, Shakespeare's last seven extant plays are discussed in detail in dedicated chapters, from Pericles to the other late co-authored works, King Henry VIII and The Two Noble Kinsmen. The plays are situated in the context of Shakespeare's financial investments, his focus on the practice of reading, the changing nature of his acting company and the pressing issues of contemporary politics and urban life. The book also goes on to explore the relationship between Shakespeare and his audience and considers the dominant themes in his final works. Analysing and responding to the latest criticism in the field, this volume brings to light a vital re-examination of what it means to discuss 'late Shakespeare'.

Table of contents

• Cover
• LATE SHAKESPEARE, 1608–1613
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Figures
• Contributors
• Acknowledgements
• A note on abbreviations
• Introduction
• CHAPTER 1 Pericles, Prince of Tyre: Pericles, Prince of Tyre and the appetite for narrative
• CHAPTER 2 Coriolanus: Coriolanus and the late romances
• CHAPTER 3 Cymbeline: Recognition in Cymbeline
• CHAPTER 4 The Winter’s Tale: Kinetic emblems and memory images in The Winter’s Tale
• CHAPTER 5 The Tempest: ‘Hush, and be mute’: silences in The Tempest
• CHAPTER 6 King Henry VIII (All is True): Semi-choric devices and the framework for playgoer response in King Henry VIII
• CHAPTER 7 The Two Noble Kinsmen: Shakespeare’s final phase: The Two Noble Kinsmen in its context
• CHAPTER 8 Shakespeare: from author to audience to print, 1608–1613
• CHAPTER 9 Reading strange matter: words and text in Shakespeare’s late plays
• CHAPTER 10 Late Shakespeare, late players
• CHAPTER 11 Cities in late Shakespeare
• CHAPTER 12 Shakespeare and James I: personal rule and public responsibility
• CHAPTER 13 Writing faithfully in a post-confessional world
• CHAPTER 14 Magic and gender in late Shakespeare
• Afterword
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index