Shakespeare, Elizabeth and Ivan : the role of English-Russian relations in Love's Labours Lost /

Shakespeare, Elizabeth and Ivan : the role of English-Russian relations in Love's Labours Lost /

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Bibliographic Details
Author / Creator:	Greenhill, Rima, author.
Imprint:	Jefferson, North Carolina : McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, [2023]
Description:	xvi, 248 pages illustrations ; 23 cm
Language:	English
Subject:	Shakespeare, William, -- 1564-1616. -- Love's labour's lost. Love's labour's lost (Shakespeare, William) Diplomatic relations. Russia -- Foreign relations -- England. England -- Foreign relations -- Russia. England. Russia. Literary criticism. Literary criticism.
Format:	Print Book
URL for this record:	http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/13120101

Hidden Bibliographic Details
ISBN:	9781476684826 1476684820 9781476648002
Notes:	Includes bibliographical references and index.
Summary:	"Shakespeare's comedy Love's Labour's Lost has perplexed scholars and theatergoers alike for over 400 years due to its linguistic complexity, obscure topical allusions and decidedly non-comedic ending. According to traditional scholarly interpretations, it is Shakespeare's "French" play, based on events and characters from the French Wars of Religion. This work argues that the play's French surface conceals a Russian core. It outlines a comprehensive interpretation of Love's Labour's Lost that is rooted in diplomatic and trade relations between Russia and Elizabethan England during the dramatic decades following England's discovery of a northern trade route to Muscovy in 1553. Drawing on original research of 16th-century sources in English, Latin and French, the text also surveys Russian sources that have been previously unavailable in translation. This analysis provides new explanations for some of the play's previously most enigmatic elements, such as its unconventional ending, the significance of its secondary characters, linguistic anomalies and the Masque of the Muscovites itself"--

Table of Contents:

Timeline: Historical Events in England, Russia and Europe, 1530-1649
Preface
Introduction
Part I. Love's Labors: Mary, Elizabeth and Ivan, 1553-1584
1. Seasick Coming from Muscovy
2. What Buys Your Company?
3. The Ambassadors of Love
4. The Armipotent Mars
5. The Empress of Muscovy
6. The Soldier, the Clown and the Wench
Part II. Labors Lost: Elizabeth and Godunov, 1584-1598
7. The Curate, the Pedant and the Boy
8. A Feast of Languages
9. Heirs of All Eternity
10. The Pageant of the Nine Worthies
Epilogue: You This Way, We That Way
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index