The Law in Shakespeare

by C. Jordan (Editor), K. Cunningham (Editor)

Overview

Leading scholars in the field analyze Shakespeare's plays to show how their dramatic content shapes issues debated in conflicts arising from the creation and application of law. Individual essays focus on such topics such as slander, revenge, and royal prerogative; these studies reveal the problems confronting early modern English men and women.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780230247727
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan UK
Publication date:	12/12/2006
Series:	Early Modern Literature in History
Edition description:	2007
Pages:	286
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

THOMAS C. BILELLO Attorney with Pacific Life Insurance Company in Newport Beach, California, USA ALLEN D. BOYER Lawyer, New York City, USA A.R. BUCK, Associate Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Arts and Law, Macquarie University, Australia DYMPNA CALLAGHAN Dean's Professor in the Humanities, Syracuse University, USA CYNDIA SUSAN CLEGG Distinguished Professor of English, Pepperdine University, USA ELIZABETH HANSON Professor of English, Queen's University, Canada PETER C. HERMAN Professor of English and Comparative Literature, San Diego State University, USA LORNA HUTSON Berry Professor of English Literature, University of St Andrews, Scotland CHRIS R. KYLE Associate Professor of Humanities, History Department, Syracuse University, USA REBECCA LEMON Assistant Professor of English, University of Southern California, USA CHARLES ROSS Professor of English and Chair of the Program of Comparative Literature, Purdue University, USA CAROLYN SALE Assistant Professor of English Literature, University of Alberta, Canada WILLIAM O. SCOTT Professor of English, University of Kansas, USA LUKE WILSON Professor of English, Ohio State University, USA NANCY E. WRIGHT Deputy Dean of the College of Arts at the University of Western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Notes on Contributors viii

1 English Law in Shakespeare's Plays Constance Jordan Karen Cunningham 1

2 Drama, Law, and Rhetoric in the Age of Coke and Shakespeare Allen D. Boyer 20

3 The Wilde Side of Justice in Early Modern England and Titus Andronicus Dympna Callaghan Chris R. Kyle 38

4 "Like to a Tenement": Landholding, Leasing, and Inheritance in Richard II William O. Scott 58

5 Cast out of Eden: Property and Inheritance in Shakespearean Drama Nancy E. Wright A. R. Buck 73

6 Avoiding the Issue of Fraud: 4, 5 Philip & Mary c.8 (the Heiress Protection Statute), Portia, and Desdemona Charles Ross 91

7 Accomplished with What She Lacks: Law, Equity, and Portia's Con Thomas C. Bilello 109

8 Drama and Marine Insurance in Shakespeare's London Luke Wilson 127

9 Noises Off: Participatory Justice in 2 Henry VI Lorna Hutson 143

10 Truth, Lies, and the Law of Slander in Much Ado About Nothing Cyndia Susan Clegg 167

11 The "Amending Hand": Hales v. Petit, Eyston v. Studd, and Equitable Action in Hamlet Carolyn Sale 189

12 Macbeth: Absolutism, the Ancient Constitution, and the Aporia of Politics Peter C. Herman 208

13 Arms and Laws in Shakespeare's Coriolanus Rebecca Lemon 233

14 Measure for Measure and the Law of Nature Elizabeth Hanson 249

Index 266

Editorial Reviews

'Jordan and Cunningham's edition...addresses an impressive range of legal connections including slander, equity, inheritance, maritime law, rhetoric, land law, sovereignty, absolutism and the law of nature.' - Literature Compass

'...the collection impressively demonstrates that jurisprudential knowledge of early modern culture enriches and transforms our understanding of Shakespeare's plays' - College Literature

'The contributors of these 14 essays are law professionals and scholars...[who] discuss a variety of legal concepts suggested by Shakespeare's plays...All in all, this is a welcome addition to Shakespeare studies - Choice

From the Publisher