Shakespeare and the Play Scripts of Private Prayer

Author:   Ceri Sullivan (Professor of English, Cardiff University)
Publisher:   Oxford University Press
ISBN:  

9780198857310


Pages:   272
Publication Date:   03 September 2020
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   To order   Availability explained
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Shakespeare and the Play Scripts of Private Prayer


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Overview

Early modern private prayer is skilled at narrative and drama. In manuals and sermons on how to pray, collections of model prayers, scholarly treatises about biblical petitions, and popular tracts about life crises prompting calls to God, prayer is valued as a powerful agent of change. Model prayers create stories about people in distinct ranks and jobs, with concrete details about real-life situations. These characters may act in play-lets, or appear in the middle of difficulties, or voice a suite of petitions from all sides of a conflict. Thinking of early modern private prayers as dramatic dialogues rather than lyric monologues raises the question of whether play-going and praying were mutually reinforcing practices. Could dramatists deploying prayer on stage rely on having audience members who were already expert at making up roles for themselves in prayer, and who expected their petitions to have the power to intervene in major events? Does prayer's focus on cause and effect structure the historiography of Shakespeare's Henry VI, Richard III, Richard II, Henry V, and Henry VIII?

Full Product Details

Author:   Ceri Sullivan (Professor of English, Cardiff University)
Publisher:   Oxford University Press
Imprint:   Oxford University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 14.90cm , Height: 2.10cm , Length: 22.30cm
Weight:   0.472kg
ISBN:  

9780198857310


ISBN 10:   0198857314
Pages:   272
Publication Date:   03 September 2020
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   To order   Availability explained
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.

Table of Contents

1: Introduction: Creativity in Private Prayers 2: Techniques to Compose Private Prayers 3: Scripting a Role for the Speaker of Private Prayer: 2 and 3 Henry VI 4: Discerning a Response to Private Prayer: Richard III and Henry V 5: The Special Case of Royal Private Prayer: Henry VIII and Richard II 6: Afterword: Staging Private Prayer Appendix A. Sample contents pages of printed private prayer books Appendix B. Sample prayers on childbirth Appendix C. Sample prayers on work

Reviews

Sullivan presents a clear and engaging study of how Shakespeare engaged with and incorporated aspects of private prayer manuals into his history plays. Shakespeare and the Play Scripts of Private Prayer is a compelling addition to the research on religion, prayer and Shakespeare. The book is easy to follow, with a clearly structured argument that would attract undergraduate students and experienced scholars alike. * Amy Jennings, Early Modern Literary Studies * What makes a monograph remarkable is its ability to answer unexplored questions and point toward new avenues within its field, and Sullivan's text completes both of these goals ... this study is a fruitful endeavor in its interdisciplinary contribution. * Grace Kimball, Comitatus *


This engaging study is two books in one: a book on the social and psychological dynamics of private prayer in early modern England; and a book on the role of prayer in Shakespeare's history plays. Each is a significant contribution to the literature of the period as well as to performance studies in general. * William T. FitzGerald, Rutgers University-Camden, USA, BUNYAN STUDIES * Sullivan presents a clear and engaging study of how Shakespeare engaged with and incorporated aspects of private prayer manuals into his history plays. Shakespeare and the Play Scripts of Private Prayer is a compelling addition to the research on religion, prayer and Shakespeare. The book is easy to follow, with a clearly structured argument that would attract undergraduate students and experienced scholars alike. * Amy Jennings, Early Modern Literary Studies * What makes a monograph remarkable is its ability to answer unexplored questions and point toward new avenues within its field, and Sullivan's text completes both of these goals ... this study is a fruitful endeavor in its interdisciplinary contribution. * Grace Kimball, Comitatus *


Author Information

Ceri Sullivan is a Professor of English Literature at Cardiff University, and the author of five books about the literary features that structure early modern texts about religion, trade, bureaucracy, and rhetoric. She was educated at the University of Oxford, and was formerly a banking systems analyst in the City of London and an NGO worker in sub-Saharan Africa.

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