Shakespeare's Binding Language - Hardcover

Kerrigan, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0198757581 ISBN 13: 9780198757580

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2016

Synopsis

This remarkable, innovative book explores the significance in Shakespeare's plays of oaths, vows, contracts, pledges, and the other utterances and acts by which characters commit themselves to the truth of things past, present, and to come. In early modern England, such binding language was everywhere. Oaths of office, marriage vows, legal bonds, and casual, everyday profanity gave shape and texture to life. The proper use of such language, and the extent of its power to bind, was argued over by lawyers, religious writers, and satirists, and these debates inform literature and drama.

Shakespeare's Binding Language gives a freshly researched account of these contexts, but it is focused on Shakespeare's plays. What motives should we look for when characters asseverate or promise? How far is binding language self-persuasive or deceptive? When is it allowable to break a vow? How do oaths and promises structure an audience's expectations? Across the sweep of Shakespeare's career, from the early histories to the late romances, this book opens new perspectives on key dramatic moments and illuminates language and action. Each chapter gives an account of a play or group of plays, yet the study builds to a sustained investigation of some of the most important systems, institutions, and controversies in early modern England, and of the wiring of Shakespearean dramaturgy.

Scholarly but accessible, and offering startling insights, this is a major contribution to Shakespeare studies by one of the leading figures in the field.

About this title

About the Author

John Kerrigan, Professor of English 2000, University of Cambridge

John Kerrigan is Professor of English 2000 at the University of Cambridge. Among his books are an edition of Shakespeare's lSonnets and A Lover's Complaint (1986), lRevenge Tragedy: Aeschylus to Armageddon (1996), and lArchipelagic English: Literature, History, and Politics 1603-1707 (2008). He has lectured in many parts of the world and writes for the lTLS and the lLondon Review of Books.

Review

"Broad historical context ... and attentive readings of the plays ... The depth of subtlety which Kerrigan finds in the handling of ... specific rhetorical forms is compelling ... I read this with enthusiasm." --Stuart Kelly, The Spectator

"Drawing on the bonds, and asseverations, of love, loyalty, debt, faith, promises and all sorts of other things that characters' vow to keep or maintain, the book explores the many ways in which Shakespeare's plays exploit the potential of the oath to bind as well as break the ties of kinship. Within this Kerrigan offers some compelling and intricate readings of oaths and their roles within the plays (and sometimes Sonnets) discussed." --Charlotte Scott, Shakespeare Studies

"This outstanding book brings a new level of sophistication to the analysis of promising in Shakespeare's drama." --James P. Bednarz, Modern Philology

"Brilliant ... dazzling ... capacious, generous ... this book will remain a resource for students and scholars for decades." --Rebecca Lemon, Shakespeare Quarterly

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 0198757581
• ISBN 13: 9780198757580
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 636