The importance of the political element in William Shakespeare's Richard II
Thesis (M.A.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1986. English Language and Literature Bibliography: leaves [120]-128. Throughout the twentieth century, literary critics have largely undervalued the political element inherent in William Shakespeare's Richard II, preferring instead to emphasi...
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ftmemorialunivdc:oai:collections.mun.ca:theses2/77866 2023-05-15T17:23:30+02:00 The importance of the political element in William Shakespeare's Richard II Fraser, R. Scott Memorial University of Newfoundland. Dept. of English Language and Literature 1985 128 leaves. Image/jpeg; Application/pdf http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/theses2/id/77866 Eng eng Electronic Theses and Dissertations (19.13 MB) -- http://collections.mun.ca/PDFs/theses/Fraser_RScott.pdf 75370958 http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/theses2/id/77866 The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. Paper copy kept in the Centre for Newfoundland Studies, Memorial University Libraries Shakespeare William 1564-1616 Text Electronic thesis or dissertation 1985 ftmemorialunivdc 2015-08-06T19:16:40Z Thesis (M.A.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1986. English Language and Literature Bibliography: leaves [120]-128. Throughout the twentieth century, literary critics have largely undervalued the political element inherent in William Shakespeare's Richard II, preferring instead to emphasize its tragic qualities. However, upon close analysis of the text and the period in which it was written one finds that the play's printed and performed popularity owed much to its political content. -- With an analogy existing between Queen Elizabeth I and Richard II, writing on the subject of the latter monarch's reign was both a daring and dangerous thing to do in the last decade of the sixteenth century. Yet, Shakespeare was able to write his play with a great deal of current political commentary and political theorizing without any extensive repercussion - even after his play was performed on the eve of the Essex Rebellion in 1601. This contrasts starkly with the fate of Dr. John Hayward, who was imprisoned in 1599 until after the death of Elizabeth for employing the analogy to comment on the politics of the day in his prose history Henry IIII. -- It is the assertion herein that Shakespeare was able to do so because he carefully balanced his play between tragedy and political theory - a balance permitting Richard II to operate as a cautionary tale within the area of functional ambiguity. Thesis Newfoundland studies University of Newfoundland Memorial University of Newfoundland: Digital Archives Initiative (DAI) Hayward ENVELOPE(167.350,167.350,-78.117,-78.117) |
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Memorial University of Newfoundland: Digital Archives Initiative (DAI) |
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English |
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Shakespeare William 1564-1616 |
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Shakespeare William 1564-1616 Fraser, R. Scott The importance of the political element in William Shakespeare's Richard II |
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Shakespeare William 1564-1616 |
description |
Thesis (M.A.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1986. English Language and Literature Bibliography: leaves [120]-128. Throughout the twentieth century, literary critics have largely undervalued the political element inherent in William Shakespeare's Richard II, preferring instead to emphasize its tragic qualities. However, upon close analysis of the text and the period in which it was written one finds that the play's printed and performed popularity owed much to its political content. -- With an analogy existing between Queen Elizabeth I and Richard II, writing on the subject of the latter monarch's reign was both a daring and dangerous thing to do in the last decade of the sixteenth century. Yet, Shakespeare was able to write his play with a great deal of current political commentary and political theorizing without any extensive repercussion - even after his play was performed on the eve of the Essex Rebellion in 1601. This contrasts starkly with the fate of Dr. John Hayward, who was imprisoned in 1599 until after the death of Elizabeth for employing the analogy to comment on the politics of the day in his prose history Henry IIII. -- It is the assertion herein that Shakespeare was able to do so because he carefully balanced his play between tragedy and political theory - a balance permitting Richard II to operate as a cautionary tale within the area of functional ambiguity. |
author2 |
Memorial University of Newfoundland. Dept. of English Language and Literature |
format |
Thesis |
author |
Fraser, R. Scott |
author_facet |
Fraser, R. Scott |
author_sort |
Fraser, R. Scott |
title |
The importance of the political element in William Shakespeare's Richard II |
title_short |
The importance of the political element in William Shakespeare's Richard II |
title_full |
The importance of the political element in William Shakespeare's Richard II |
title_fullStr |
The importance of the political element in William Shakespeare's Richard II |
title_full_unstemmed |
The importance of the political element in William Shakespeare's Richard II |
title_sort |
importance of the political element in william shakespeare's richard ii |
publishDate |
1985 |
url |
http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/theses2/id/77866 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(167.350,167.350,-78.117,-78.117) |
geographic |
Hayward |
geographic_facet |
Hayward |
genre |
Newfoundland studies University of Newfoundland |
genre_facet |
Newfoundland studies University of Newfoundland |
op_source |
Paper copy kept in the Centre for Newfoundland Studies, Memorial University Libraries |
op_relation |
Electronic Theses and Dissertations (19.13 MB) -- http://collections.mun.ca/PDFs/theses/Fraser_RScott.pdf 75370958 http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/theses2/id/77866 |
op_rights |
The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. |
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1766112847255830528 |