The Tainted Muse: Prejudice and Presumption in Shakespeare and His Time

288 pp $26.00 cloth In the introduction to his 1998 book, Cultural Calisthenics, Robert Brustein referred to himself as a "critic of American culture," which he has observed through "the prism of the American theatre" (3). Given the surge of interest in race studies and Shakespea...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:New England theatre journal 2010-01, Vol.21, p.168
Main Author: O'Rourke, Deirdre
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Culture
Dramatists
Jonson, Ben (1573-1637)
Misogyny
Politics
Religion
Royalty
Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)
Spirituality
Theater
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Summary:288 pp $26.00 cloth In the introduction to his 1998 book, Cultural Calisthenics, Robert Brustein referred to himself as a "critic of American culture," which he has observed through "the prism of the American theatre" (3). Given the surge of interest in race studies and Shakespeare in recent years, little new territory is covered; rather, the originality of Brustein's approach lies in his knowledge of production histories, demonstrated when he traces the development of The Moor and The Jew in performance and the controversial implications of both recuperating the characters and embracing them as stereotypes of an historical moment. Ultimately, however, his book is a rich exploration of Shakespeare's canon that encourages the continued study of the playwright and his time.
ISSN:1050-9720