Shakespeare and the Question of Culture addresses the central issue of "culture" in early modern studies through both literary history and disciplinary critique. Bruster argues that the "culture" that critics investigate through the works of Shakespeare and other writers is largely a literary culture, and he examines what this necessary limitation of the scope of "cultural studies" means for the discipline of early modern studies.

Shakespeare and the Question of Culture addresses the central issue of "culture" in early modern studies through both literary history and disciplinary critique. Bruster argues that the "culture" that critics investigate through the works of Shakespeare and other writers is largely a literary culture, and he examines what this necessary limitation of the scope of "cultural studies" means for the discipline of early modern studies.