There is political interest everywhere in Shakespeare. Macbeth and Hamlet are concerned with kingship, Measure for Measure with law, The Tempest with power. Shakespeare is consistently interested in rulers, law, questions of authority and obedience - as well as the politics of personal relationships. In this book Alexander Leggatt concentrates on the ordering and enforcing, the gaining and losing, of public power in the state, in the English and Roman histories. He sees Shakespeare as concerned both with things as they are, and with things as they ought to be: his depiction of public life includes clear appraisals of the one, and powerful images of the other. It is the interplay of the two that makes the drama.

Reviews

`If good teaching is making the strange and unfamiliar less so, then Shakespeare's Political Drama is indeed exemplary teaching. Through close analysis of the histories and the Roman plays, Leggatt shows what is important politically for Shakespeare and how this differs from our own view...Highly recommended.' - Choice

`... persuasive and well-written ...' - Stage and Television Today

`Leggat is good company: he can be witty and has a sharp feeling for theatre.' - English Literature

`... an extremely literate, thorough and fair-minded history.' - William C. Carroll, Canadian Journal of the Humanities.

Book Information
ISBN 9780415038881
Author Alexander Leggatt
Format Paperback
Page Count 284
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 408g