Desires of Credit in Early Modern Theory and Drama

Commerce, Poesy, and the Profitable Imagination

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Theatre, Performing Arts, Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism
Cover of the book Desires of Credit in Early Modern Theory and Drama by Brian Sheerin, Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Brian Sheerin ISBN: 9781317152019
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: April 28, 2016
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author: Brian Sheerin
ISBN: 9781317152019
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: April 28, 2016
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

Desires of Credit in Early Modern Theory and Drama traces the near-simultaneous rise of economic theory, literary criticism, and public theater in London at the turn of the seventeenth century, and posits that connecting all three is a fascination with creating something out of nothing simply by acting as if it were there. Author Brian Sheerin contends that the motivating force behind both literary and economic inquiry at this time was the same basic quandary about the human imagination--specifically, how investments of belief can produce tangible consequences. Just as speculators were realizing the potency of collective imagination on economic circulation, readers and dramatists were becoming newly introspective about whether or not the 'lies' of literature could actually be morally 'profitable.' Could one actually benefit by taking certain fictions 'seriously'? Each of the five chapters examines a different dimension of this question by highlighting a particular dramatization of economic trust on the Renaissance stage, in plays by Marlowe, Shakespeare, Heywood, Dekker, and Jonson. The book fills a gap in current scholarship by keeping economic and dramatic interests rigorously grounded in early modern literary criticism, but also by emphasizing the productive nature of debt in a way that resonates with recent economic sociology.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Desires of Credit in Early Modern Theory and Drama traces the near-simultaneous rise of economic theory, literary criticism, and public theater in London at the turn of the seventeenth century, and posits that connecting all three is a fascination with creating something out of nothing simply by acting as if it were there. Author Brian Sheerin contends that the motivating force behind both literary and economic inquiry at this time was the same basic quandary about the human imagination--specifically, how investments of belief can produce tangible consequences. Just as speculators were realizing the potency of collective imagination on economic circulation, readers and dramatists were becoming newly introspective about whether or not the 'lies' of literature could actually be morally 'profitable.' Could one actually benefit by taking certain fictions 'seriously'? Each of the five chapters examines a different dimension of this question by highlighting a particular dramatization of economic trust on the Renaissance stage, in plays by Marlowe, Shakespeare, Heywood, Dekker, and Jonson. The book fills a gap in current scholarship by keeping economic and dramatic interests rigorously grounded in early modern literary criticism, but also by emphasizing the productive nature of debt in a way that resonates with recent economic sociology.

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book Education and Religion by Brian Sheerin
Cover of the book Bureaucracy and Representative Government by Brian Sheerin
Cover of the book Archaeology of Religion by Brian Sheerin
Cover of the book Encyclopedia of Modern Jewish Culture by Brian Sheerin
Cover of the book The Opium of the Intellectuals by Brian Sheerin
Cover of the book Wittgenstein's Philosophy of Mind (Routledge Revivals) by Brian Sheerin
Cover of the book City Life from Jakarta to Dakar by Brian Sheerin
Cover of the book The Politics of Race by Brian Sheerin
Cover of the book When The Opposite Sex Isn't by Brian Sheerin
Cover of the book Beyond the National Curriculum by Brian Sheerin
Cover of the book Women of India by Brian Sheerin
Cover of the book Following the Proceeds of Environmental Crime by Brian Sheerin
Cover of the book Judaism, Philosophy, Culture by Brian Sheerin
Cover of the book Physical Activity And Mental Health by Brian Sheerin
Cover of the book Personhood and Social Robotics by Brian Sheerin
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy