The Child in Shakespeare

This book explores the character and representation of the child in Shakespeare's drama, focusing on their role stage, life stage stage, and parental and social dynamic. It draws on contemporary texts to examine how the idea of the child is mobilized as a body and image on the early modern stage, and why Shakespeare, who showed little interest in writing for children, wrote so powerfully about them.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 192 pages
Publication date: 28 May 2021
Publisher: Oxford University Press

This volume delves into the multifaceted character and representation of the child in Shakespeare's drama, examining their role as a vital force, a passionate plea for justice, a legacy, history, memory, or image of love or violence. Shakespeare's plays are teeming with children, serving as a testament to their ubiquitous presence. By focusing on Shakespeare's unique fascination with the young body, life stage, and parental and social dynamics, this book offers a comprehensive account of the role and representation of the child in Shakespeare's dramatic imagination. Drawing on a diverse range of contemporary texts, including parenting manuals, household and pedagogical texts, as well as books on nursing and maternity, child birth, and child rearing, The Child in Shakespeare explores the ways in which the idea of the child is mobilized as a body and image on the early modern stage. By understanding the child not only as a specific life stage but also as a role and an abstraction of feeling, this book examines why Shakespeare, who showed little interest in writing for children in the playing companies, crafted such powerful portrayals of them on his stage.

Weight: 278g
Dimension: 234 x 156 x 10 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780192843074