Shakespeare, Machiavelli, and Montaigne: Power and Subjectivity from Richard II to Hamlet

by Hugh Grady

Overview

The four plays of Shakespeare's Henriad and the slightly later Hamlet brilliantly explore interconnections between political power and interior subjectivity as productions of the newly emerging constellation we call modernity. Hugh Grady argues that for Shakespeare subjectivity was a critical, negative mode of resistance to power—not, as many recent critics have asserted, its abettor.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199257607
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	02/13/2003
Pages:	298
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 5.76(h) x 0.85(d)

About the Author

Arcadia University

Table of Contents

Introduction1. A Shakespeare Machiavellian Moment, 1595-1600: An Overview2. The Discourse of Princes in Richard II: From Machiavelli to Montaigne3. Montaigne, Shakespeare, and the Construction of Modern Subjectivity4. The Resistance to Power in 1 Henry IV: Subjectivity in the World5. The Reified Worlds of 2 Henry IV and Henry VConclusionBibliographyIndex

Editorial Reviews

"Hugh Grady's Shakespeare, Machiavelli, and Montaigne is a clever, intelligent, and well-written book."—Richard Strier, The University of Chicago

"The core chapters of the book are consistently rewarding and often brilliant readings of Richard II and the Henriad in relation to early modern philosophy and political theory."—Studies in English Literature 1500-1900

From the Publisher