Overview

The Routledge Companion to Shakespeare and Politics challenges and transforms our understanding of the politics of Shakespeare’s plays. Through up-to-date essays by historians, biographers, and Shakespeare critics, this Companion offers, first, a systematic examination of dominant institutions and emergent thought in Shakespeare’s society, then meditation on Shakespeare’s representation of these. Contributors consider the common law and the legally embattled royal prerogative, the functioning of the justice system, the impact of angry Tudor reformers, early capitalism, war, libels, rebellion, populism, religion, and cosmological ferment, as well as the class system, Machiavelli, Montaigne, and theatrical transgression. Opening chapters discuss the harsh politicisation of childhood Shakespeare, the subversive practices built into grammar school education, and the mythic retirement of Shakespeare to an idyllic Warwickshire. Combining social panorama with sharp critical readings, this synoptic approach allows identification of a political coherence to Shakespeare’s drama: identifying commonalities of vision, frequently critical and dissident, returning in different plays. The final section looks at Shakespeare’s reception within Marxism, feminism, racial theory, LGBTQ+ thought, and ecocriticism. The collection recovers a lost Shakespeare, of substantial political disaffection in very dark times, offering a challenging political redirection of Shakespeare studies, and perhaps a Shakespeare for our era. As an authoritative, state-of-the-art guide to this resonant topic, it will be of interest to anyone researching or studying Shakespeare.

Full Product Details

Author:   Chris Fitter
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint:   Routledge
ISBN:  

9781032534596

ISBN 10:   1032534591
Pages:   432
Publication Date:   31 October 2025
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming
Availability:   Not yet available  
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Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction Part 1: Early life Chapter 2: Stratford politics 1550-1620 Chapter 3: Politics and rhetoric, in Grammar School and beyond Chapter 4: Out of this world: the utopian politics of Shakespeare biography Part 2: Social Class Chapter 5: Shakespeare and the People: Staging Political Economy Chapter 6: Shakespeare and the Middle Sorts Chapter 7: Shakespeare, the court, and the courtly Part 3: The Critical Ferment Chapter 8: Shakespeare and the Lucretian Chapter 9: Shakespeare and Machiavelli Chapter 10: Shakespeare and Montaigne and Politics Chapter 11: Shakespeare, Radical Humanism, and Tudor Reform movements Chapter 12: Shakespeare, cosmology and the politics of infinity Part 4: The Theatre World Chapter 13: The Politics of Playing Companies: Audience, Repertory, and Patron Chapter 14: Shakespeare, theatre and transgression Part 5: National Politics Chapter 15: Shakespeare and the justice system Chapter 16: Shakespeare and the common law Chapter 17: Shakespeare, populism and the public sphere Chapter 18: Shakespeare and Religion: against nostalgia and against persecution Chapter 19: Shakespeare and War Chapter 20: “Enter Rumour”: the Politics of Speech and Silence in Drama and Everyday Life Chapter 21: Shakespeare and early capitalism Part 6: Shakespeare in the Modern World: Political Appropriations Chapter 22: Marxist Shakespeares Chapter 23: Feminist Shakespeares Chapter 24: LGBTQ+ Shakespeare Chapter 25: Shakespeare and racial capitalism Chapter 26: Shakespeare, anti-colonialism, and struggles for social justice Chapter 27: Shakespeare and eco-criticism

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Author Information

Chris Fitter is Professor of English at Rutgers University at Camden, USA. His publications include Majesty and the Masses in Shakespeare and Marlowe (2020), Radical Shakespeare (2011), and Shakespeare and the Politics of Commoners (2017).

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