Overview

Through close readings of a wide range of plays and poems, Kiernan Ryan's compelling polemic sets out to reclaim the idea of Shakespeare's timeless universality from reactionary and radical critics alike. Its argument is driven throughout by the belief that at this moment in history the need to recognise and activate the revolutionary potential of Shakespeare's drama is more urgent than ever. The volume has been shortlisted for the European Society for the Study of English 2016 Prize for the best critical study in the field of Literatures in the English Language.

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9781408183496

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[Ryan] argues powerfully against the 'arid antiquarianism' of historicist scholarship, and offers instead a Shakespeare always out of sync with his own time and thus able to transcend it ... [A] highly readable book. Around the Globe [This] cogent and passionate appropriation of the idea of Shakespeare's timeless universality is a critical tour de force that draws on concepts that have long animated Ryan's work ... [A] riveting, beautifully argued, and important book. Renaissance Quarterly

[Ryan] argues powerfully against the 'arid antiquarianism' of historicist scholarship, and offers instead a Shakespeare always out of sync with his own time and thus able to transcend it ... [A] highly readable book. -- Emma Smith, University of Oxford, UK Around the Globe

Author Information

Kiernan Ryan is Professor of English Language and Literature at Royal Holloway, University of London, UK and an Emeritus Fellow of Murray Edwards College, University of Cambridge, UK.

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