Shakespeare's Problem Plays All's Well That Ends Well, Measure for Measure, Troilus and Cressida

by Barker, Simon

• ISBN13: 9780333654286
• ISBN10: 0333654285
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-08-06
• Publisher: Red Globe Pr

Summary

This New Casebook offers a wide-ranging selection of contemporary critical readings of Shakespeare's three 'problem plays': All's Well That Ends Well, Measure for Measure and Trolius and Cressida. Together, they reflect the diversity of late twentieth-century theory and the controversy that continues to be generated by the plays, and discuss a variety of key issues. These include the meaning of the term 'problem play', the historical context and political and cultural significance of the plays, as well as issues of staging and theatre history. The volume also provides a helpful introduction which guides the reader through the critical approaches, terms and debates, as well as explanatory notes for each essay and a useful section on further reading. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Simon Barker is Principal Lecturer in English, University of Gloucestershire.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	vii
General Editors' Preface	ix
Introduction	1	(20)
Simon Barker
Shakespeare's Problem Plays: Concepts and Perspectives	21	(8)
Vivian Thomas
All's Well That Ends Well and the Tale of the Chivalric Quest	29	(25)
Leah Scragg
The Political Effects of Gender and Class in All's Well That Ends Well	54	(20)
Peter Erickson
Subjectivity, Desire and Female Friendship in All's Well That Ends Well	74	(21)
Carolyn Asp
Transgression and Surveillance in Measure for Measure	95	(18)
Jonathan Dollimore
London in Measure for Measure	113	(13)
Leah Marcus
Love's Tyranny Inside-out in the Problem Plays: Yours, Mine, and Counter-mine	126	(33)
Richard Hillman
`Tricks We Play on the Dead': Making History in Troilus and Cressida	159	(18)
Heather James
Invading Bodies/Bawdy Exchanges: Disease, Desire, and Representation	177	(22)
Valerie Traub
Fragments of Nationalism in Troilus and Cressida	199	(24)
Matthew Greenfield
Further Reading	223	(3)
Notes on Contributors	226	(3)
Index	229