Shakespeares Eden - Hardcover

Joseph, B. L.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0389041297 ISBN 13: 9780389041290

Publisher: Blandford, London, 1971

Synopsis

There can be few periods in English history on which a study of contemporary literature can shed more light, and few eras more likely to benefit from a knowledge of the historical background than those discussed in this book. In Shakespeare's Eden, Professor Joseph has drawn on a quarter of a century's experience and research to explain those aspects of life, art and thought of which he has found it most necessary to inform those wishing to become at home in the culture of Elizabethan and early Stuart England. He has not attempted to cover ground that has been well harvested by other writers, but has concentrated on those topics which he believes to be of the utmost importance. Nor has he affected to supply a single key to the age; on the contrary, it is insisted that much that happened cannot be explained owing to the shortage of evidence. The terminal dates of his period extend from the accession of Elizabeth to the decision of Charles I to reign without a parliament. The period overlaps by only a few years the lifetime of Shakespeare and has been chosen partly for this reason, though partly because it has a unity of its own. In many ways these years in England saw little change in political, constitutional or social life; the new scientific thought was slow to take hold; only literature and drama appeared to advance, and even here change arose out of an existing tradition which it perpetuated in new forms rather than destroyed. Yet while many old relationships continued, change there was. Seeds had been, and were being, sown which would produce greater and deeper changes as the seventeenth century progressed. In this penetrating and original study of Shakespeare's England, Professor Joseph has achieved a valid integration of a number of disciplines which will be of benefit to students and laymen alike.

About this edition

• Publisher: Blandford, London
• Publication date: 1971
• ISBN 10: 0389041297
• ISBN 13: 9780389041290
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 368