"Putting History to the Question" marks a critical step beyond
the orthodoxy of New Historicism. This collection of mutually
enriching essays, hitherto scattered through a variety of journals
and critical collections, represents a generous range of Michael
Neill's critical writings. Together they constitute a singularly
eloquent exploration of the ways in which literary texts engage the
world around them. "Putting History to the Question" is the result
of Neill's ongoing investigation of how literature provides a
revealing portrait of nation, social order, and empire, and how the
flow of literary discourse affects the progress of history.
Covering dramatic works by Shakespeare, John Fletcher, Philip
Massinger, and others -- and reflecting upon subjects ranging from
social attitudes toward racial difference and adultery to the
politics of mercantilism and the hierarchy of relationships between
masters and servants -- the book reenergizes discussion of
Renaissance drama and history.
In exposing the complex and fluid interdependence of literature
and history, Neill avoids two common pitfalls of literary
criticism, neither elevating literature above the world in which it
is produced and read nor casting literary texts as mere barometers
of political currents. For the many scholars and students
accustomed to reading from tattered photocopies of Neill's seminal
writings, "Putting History to the Question" will be a valuable
addition to the critical library.
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