Representing the Plague in Early Modern England

Nonfiction, History, Renaissance, Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, British
Cover of the book Representing the Plague in Early Modern England by , Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: ISBN: 9781136963230
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: September 13, 2010
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author:
ISBN: 9781136963230
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: September 13, 2010
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

This collection offers readers a timely encounter with the historical experience of people adapting to a pandemic emergency and the corresponding narrative representation of that crisis, as early modern writers transformed the plague into literature. The essays examine the impact of the plague on health, politics, and religion as well as on the plays, prose fiction, and plague bills that stand as witnesses to the experience of a society devastated by contagious disease. Readers will find physicians and moralists wrestling with the mysteries of the disease; erotic escapades staged in plague-time plays; the poignant prose works of William Bullein and Thomas Dekker; the bodies of monarchs who sought to protect themselves from plague; the chameleon-like nature of the plague as literal disease and as metaphor; and future strains of plague, literary and otherwise, which we may face in the globally-minded, technology-dependent, and ecologically-awakened twenty-first century. The bubonic plague compelled change in all aspects of lived experience in Early Modern England, but at the same time, it opened space for writers to explore new ideas and new literary forms—not all of them somber or horrifying and some of them downright hilarious. By representing the plague for their audiences, these writers made an epidemic calamity intelligible: for them, the dreaded disease could signify despair but also hope, bewilderment but also a divine plan, quarantine but also liberty, death but also new life.

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

This collection offers readers a timely encounter with the historical experience of people adapting to a pandemic emergency and the corresponding narrative representation of that crisis, as early modern writers transformed the plague into literature. The essays examine the impact of the plague on health, politics, and religion as well as on the plays, prose fiction, and plague bills that stand as witnesses to the experience of a society devastated by contagious disease. Readers will find physicians and moralists wrestling with the mysteries of the disease; erotic escapades staged in plague-time plays; the poignant prose works of William Bullein and Thomas Dekker; the bodies of monarchs who sought to protect themselves from plague; the chameleon-like nature of the plague as literal disease and as metaphor; and future strains of plague, literary and otherwise, which we may face in the globally-minded, technology-dependent, and ecologically-awakened twenty-first century. The bubonic plague compelled change in all aspects of lived experience in Early Modern England, but at the same time, it opened space for writers to explore new ideas and new literary forms—not all of them somber or horrifying and some of them downright hilarious. By representing the plague for their audiences, these writers made an epidemic calamity intelligible: for them, the dreaded disease could signify despair but also hope, bewilderment but also a divine plan, quarantine but also liberty, death but also new life.

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book Capitalist Imperialism, Crisis and the State by
Cover of the book Cluster Munitions and International Law by
Cover of the book Communication Yearbook 19 by
Cover of the book A Philosophy of Material Culture by
Cover of the book Collective Violence, Contentious Politics, and Social Change by
Cover of the book History After Lacan by
Cover of the book Technology and Workflows for Multiple Channel Content Distribution by
Cover of the book Children, Technology and Culture by
Cover of the book History of Financial Institutions by
Cover of the book International English by
Cover of the book Global Lockdown by
Cover of the book Work, Welfare and Taxation by
Cover of the book The Applied Law and Economics of Public Procurement by
Cover of the book Populism and Power by
Cover of the book Music in the Baroque World by
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