Authority of Expression in Early Modern England

Product Description Authority of Expression in Early Modern England brings together an international group of scholars writing on the relationships between authority and the self in early modern English literature, discussing writers such as Edmund Spenser, William Shakespeare, John Donne, Ben Jonson, Thomas Middleton and Andrew Marvell. The early modern period was a time of momentous religious, political and cultural change, with scientific and geographical exploration opening new horizons, challenging established truths, and unsettling the concepts and practices of authority. In this book, scholars approach the texts from a literary, historical and/or linguistic point of view, thus providing multiple perspectives on the topic. Themes explored in this book include: the links between sense perception and cognition in the establishment of authority; the ways that sexuality, gender relations and language are implicated in expressing and responding to authority; and, conceptions of the self and the strategies that individuals adopt to cope with changes in their frameworks of authority and power. This wide-ranging collection offers new perspectives on how authority was negotiated in the English Renaissance. About the Author Nely Keinanen and Maria Salenius are lecturers working in Renaissance literature at the Department of English, University of Helsinki, Finland. Keinanen's research focuses on Shakespeare and drama, while Salenius concentrates on John Donne and other religious writers.