Paola Pugliatti Libri

The study explores the interplay between Shakespeare's portrayal of war and the contemporary discourse on the 'just war' concept, prevalent in both religious and secular writings during his era. It re-evaluates Shakespeare's works by examining the shifting historical and political landscapes, revealing how these factors influenced his representations of conflict. Through this lens, the book sheds light on the complexities of war as depicted in Shakespeare's plays, reflecting the tensions and moral dilemmas of his time.

This book throws new light on the complexity and variety of practices which may be defined as ‘theatrical’ in a broad sense in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century English drama. The volume deals first with the mainstream of dramatic production, starting from the anti-theatrical debate which characterized the whole period and increased in intensity as it went on. Here Shakespeare and Ben Jonson come on stage with their rejoinders to this issue. At the same time, while the universities were offering a kind of theatre workshop importing Latin and Italian models, popular performances were being staged in non-theatrical spaces. Tournaments, and their aristocratic codes, are explored as well as more popular and ‘marginal’ spectacles – such as those of conny-catching improvisers, jugglers, gypsy dancers and fortune-tellers, clowns and prophetesses.