- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
Shakespeare and the Making of America
About this book
In Shakespeare and the Making of America, Kevin J. Hayes tells a story that has never been told before. He traces the history of reading Shakespeare in British North America during the eighteenth century, a story that goes from Drury Lane Theatre in London to the backwoods of South Carolina to the back alleys of Boston to Independence Hall in Philadelphia. The most prominent figures in the story are the Founding Fathers of the United States of America: John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and George Washington. Hayes looks at how these men read, understood and applied the words of Shakespeare to suit a new nation. Shakespeare's plays were not just read for entertainment value; they were also appreciated for their insights into the human condition. When it came time to assert American rights to liberty and freedom in the face of British tyranny, the words of Shakespeare were always handy to make a point or seal an argument. American writers quoted Shakespeare to justify their actions during the French and Indian War, the Stamp Act crisis and the Revolutionary War. Echoes of Shakespeare can be heard in some of the most fundamental documents in American history: the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.
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Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access Shakespeare and the Making of America by Kevin J. Hayes in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & European Renaissance History. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Acknowledgements
- Preface
- 1 Mr William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies
- 2 Benjamin Franklin and the Governors
- 3 Franklin Redux
- 4 William Parks and the Virginia Gazette
- 5 Dr Alexander Hamilton and the Ancient and Honourable Tuesday Club of Annapolis, Maryland
- 6 The Colonial American Stage
- 7 John Mercer, Governor Dinwiddie and the Dinwiddianae
- 8 The Labyrinth of Mental Nature: Reading Shakespeare, Becoming John Adams
- 9 The 1760s
- 10 Jefferson and His Williamsburg Circle
- 11 The Blast of War
- 12 Band of Brothers
- 13 American Shakespeareans in Europe
- 14 How Shakespeare Ratified the Constitution
- Plates
- Notes
- List of Illustrations