Front cover image for Eternal bonds, true contracts : law and nature in Shakespeare's problem plays

Eternal bonds, true contracts : law and nature in Shakespeare's problem plays

"In Eternal Bonds, True Contracts, A.G. Harmon closely analyzes Shakespeare's concentrated use of the law and its instruments in what have often been referred to as the problem plays: Measure for Measure, Troilus and Cressida, The Merchant of Venice, and All's Well That Ends Well. Harmon explores the theory and practice of contractual obligations in Renaissance England, especially those involving marriage and property, in order to identify contractual elements and their formation, execution, and breach in the plays. Using both legal and literary resources, Harmon reveals the larger significance of these contractual concepts by illustrating how Shakespeare develops them both dramatically and thematically. Harmon's study ultimately enables the reader to perceive not only these plays but also all of Shakespeare's writing - including his poetry - as integral with, and implicated in, the proliferating legalism that was helping to define early modern English culture."--Jacket
Print Book, English, ©2004
State University of New York Press, Albany, ©2004
Tragicomedies
vii, 195 pages ; 24 cm
9780791461174, 9780791461181, 0791461173, 0791461181
52860213
The semblance of virtue : law, nature, and Shakespeare
Things seen and unseen : the contracts in Measure for measure
Perfection in reversion : the mock contract in Troilus and Cressida
Matching meanings : contracts, bonds, and sureties in The merchant of Venice
Lawful title : contractual performance in All's well that ends well
Nature's double name : beyond the problem plays