This remarkable, innovative book explores the significance in
Shakespeare's plays of oaths, vows, contracts, pledges and the
other utterances and acts by which characters commit themselves to
the truth of things past, present, and to come. In early modern
England, such binding language was everywhere. Oaths of office,
marriage vows, legal bonds, and casual, everyday profanity gave
shape and texture to life. The proper use of such language, and the
extent of its power to bind, was argued over by lawyers, religious
writers, and satirists, and these debates inform literature and
drama. Shakespeare's Binding Language gives a freshly researched
account of these contexts, but it is focused on the plays. What
motives should we look for when characters asseverate or promise?
How far is binding language self-persuasive or deceptive? When is
it allowable to break a vow? How do oaths and promises structure an
audience's expectations? Across the sweep of Shakespeare's career,
from the early histories to the late romances, this book opens new
perspectives on key dramatic moments and illuminates language and
action. Each chapter gives an account of a play or group of plays,
yet the study builds to a sustained investigation of some of the
most important systems, institutions, and controversies in early
modern England, and of the wiring of Shakespearean dramaturgy.
Scholarly but accessible, and offering startling insights, this is
a major contribution to Shakespeare studies by one of the leading
figures in the field.
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