Measure for Measure: A Critical Reader
Measure for Measure: A Critical Reader
Description
This scholarly guide to Measure for Measure highlights its unique position in the Shakespeare canon by covering its nuanced performance history and critical backstory.
Measure for Measure broke new ground in Shakespeare's dramatic writing by rejecting the formulae of comedy and tragedy. Issues at the heart of the play including gender equality, rape, judicial process, political authority, slander, and equality before the law provide rich material for teaching and studying. Contributors connect the specifics of these themes from the early modern context to the present day and make crucial interventions to contemporary criticism on the play. Such interpretations explore how sexual politics, reputation, the reformation, ethics, and law shape Measure for Measure for a 21st century audience. Through a wide range of essays, the book provides a comprehensive guide to this criticism as well as its recent stage history that will be useful for scholars and students alike.
Table of Contents
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
TIMELINE
Introduction JOHN JOWETT
1. The Critical Backstory SUZANNE GOSSETT
2. On Stage: Isabella's 'prone and speechless dialect' in Performance ELIZABETH SCHAFER
3. On Screen: 'Who will believe thee?' (2.4.154): Measure for Measure and the Problem of Verisimilitude on Screen SARAH HATCHUEL and NATHALIE VIENNE-GUERRIN
4. The State of the Art CARLA DELLA GATTA
5. New Directions: Theatres of Reputation in Measure for Measure LAURA KOLB
6. New Directions: 'False prints': Thinking through Metaphors of Counterfeit Impression in Measure for Measure HARRY NEWMAN
7. New Directions: 'There is pretty orders beginning, I can tell you': Jacobean Plague-time Policies and Politics in Measure for Measure LORNA GILTROW-SHAW
8. New Directions: The Government of Self and Others: Ministerial Power and Hypocrisy in Measure for Measure ALEXANDER THOM
9. Resources for Teaching and Studying Measure for Measure SARAH OLIVE
NOTES
WORKS CITED
INDEX
Product details
| Published | 13 Nov 2025 |
|---|---|
| Format | Ebook (PDF) |
| Edition | 1st |
| Extent | 256 |
| ISBN | 9781350409057 |
| Imprint | The Arden Shakespeare |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
ONLINE RESOURCES
Bloomsbury Collections
This book is available on Bloomsbury Collections where your library has access.
Related Titles
