Literature and Politics in the 1620s - by P Salzman (Hardcover)

About the Book

"This exciting study of the literature of the 1620s argues that during the decade a huge range of writing and performance reflected the growing hunger of readers and audiences for political information and commentary mediated through literature. The comparatively neglected decade is reshaped by this book, which argues that literature was inextricably linked to politics, whether oppositional or authoritarian. A wide range of texts are analyzed, from Shakespeare's First Folio to Middleton's A Game At Chess, from romances and poetry to sermons, tracts and newsbooks. Salzman argues that the flow and counterflow of these texts was part of a cultivated practice of reading and writing, that politicized every moment as a contest of ideas. This is literary history at its most innovative and informative. Additional materials for Literature and Politics in the 1620s can be found here: http: //www.latrobe.edu.au/humanities/research/specialisations/literary-studies "--

Book Synopsis

Literature and Politics in the 1620s argues that literature during this decade was inextricably linked to politics, whether oppositional or authoritarian. A wide range of texts are analyzed, from Shakespeare's First Folio to Middleton's A Game At Chess, from romances and poetry to sermons, tracts and newsbooks.

Review Quotes

"Future scholars will surely praise Salzman for identifying this particularly rich intersection of history and literature, and for implicitly calling for similar studies, for example, in James's reign before the European crisis of 1618 and during the Republic and Protectorate. They will also applaud him for encouraging us to listen patiently for various political 'counsells' in literature, whispered or otherwise." (Thomas Cogswell, Modern Philology, Vol. 114 (1), May, 2016)

"Paul Salzman, in Literature and Politics in the 1620s: 'Whisper'd Counsells, ' examines the development of self-conscious political reading in the 1620s in a more standard account of literature and politics. ... The book is an excellent resource for scholars and graduate students. It gives a comprehensive view of literature of the 1620s." (Studies in English Literature 1500-1900, Vol. 56, 2016)

"...the book succeeds in its goal of 'offer[ing] a clear sense of what the decade's overall literary production was like' (p. 8) and demonstrates the richness and variety of that production. It provides a useful introduction to this fascinating decade and engaging overview of many of its key and less familiar texts." Review of English Studies

About the Author

Paul Salzman is a Professor of English Literature at La Trobe University, Australia. He has published widely in the area of early modern literature especially work on fiction, women writers, and literary history.