The Renaissance saw a renewed and energetic engagement with classical rhetoric; recent years have seen a similar revival of interest in Renaissance rhetoric. As Renaissance critics recognised, figurative language is the key area of intersection between rhetoric and literature. This book is the first modern account of Renaissance rhetoric to focus solely on the figures of speech. It reflects a belief that the figures exemplify the larger concerns of rhetoric, and connect, directly or by analogy, to broader cultural and philosophical concerns within early modern society. Thirteen authoritative contributors have selected a rhetorical figure with a special currency in Renaissance writing and have used it as a key to one of the period's characteristic modes of perception, forms of argument, states of feeling or styles of reading.

The Renaissance saw a renewed and energetic engagement with classical rhetoric; recent years have seen a similar revival of interest in Renaissance rhetoric. As Renaissance critics recognised, figurative language is the key area of intersection between rhetoric and literature. This book is the first modern account of Renaissance rhetoric to focus solely on the figures of speech. It reflects a belief that the figures exemplify the larger concerns of rhetoric, and connect, directly or by analogy, to broader cultural and philosophical concerns within early modern society. Thirteen distinguished contributors have selected a rhetorical figure with a special currency in Renaissance writing, and have used it as a key to one of the period's characteristic modes of perception, forms of argument, states of feeling, or styles of reading.

This accessible and interdisciplinary volume addresses a fundamental need in current education in language, literature and drama. Many of today's students lack the grammatical and linguistic skills to enable them to study Shakespearean and other Renaissance texts as closely as their courses require. This practical guide will help them to understand and use the structures and strategies of written and dramatic language. Eleven short essays on aspects of literary criticism and performance by an eminent team of contributors are followed by a more detailed exploration of the history of language use, grammar and spelling, plus a glossary of terms offering definitions, contexts and examples. Together these provide an informed and engaging historical understanding of dramatic language in the early modern period.