The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare's Poetry (Cambridge Companions to Literature)

This Companion provides a full introduction to the poetry of William Shakespeare through discussion of his freestanding narrative poems, the Sonnets, and his plays. Fourteen leading international scholars provide accessible and authoritative chapters on all relevant topics: from Shakespeare’s seminal role in the development of English poetry, the wide-ranging practice of his poetic form, and his enigmatic place in print and manuscript culture, to his immersion in English Renaissance politics, religion, classicism, and gender dynamics. With individual chapters on Venus and Adonis, The Rape of Lucrece, The Passionate Pilgrim, ‘The Phoenix and the Turtle’, the Sonnets, and A Lover’s Complaint, the Companion also includes chapters on the presence of poetry in the dramatic works, on the relation between poetry and performance, and on the reception and influence of the poems. The volume includes a chronology of Shakespeare’s life, a note on reference works, and a reading list for each chapter.

This Companion seeks to bridge the current gap between Shakespeare’s poems and plays, as well as between his ‘theatrical’and his ‘poetical’achievements. Chapters discuss the Sonnets, individual narrative poems, the topic of poetry in the plays, the special contexts important for viewing ‘Shakespearean poetry’, and the afterlife of this topic. The book presents Shakespeare as a pioneering author of poems and plays, one who remains committed to the intersection of the poetical with the theatrical within the English and European tradition both on stage and page.

A volume of essays by leading Shakespearean scholars on Shakespeare’s poetry, including the Sonnets.

Patrick Cheney is Professor in the Department of English at Pennsylvania State University.

Chronology; Preface; Introduction: Shakespeare’s poetry in the twenty-first century Patrick Cheney; 1. Shakespeare and the development of English poetry William J. Kennedy; 2. Rhetoric, style, and poetic form John Roe; 3. Print and manuscript Lukas Erne; 4. Venus and Adonis Coppélia Kahn; 5. The Rape of Lucrece Catherine Belsey; 6. The Passionate Pilgrim and ‘The Phoenix and Turtle’James P. Bednarz; 7. The Sonnets Michael Schoenfeldt; 8. A Lover’s Complaint Katherine Rowe; 9. Poetry, politics, and religion Andrew Hadfield; 10. Love, beauty, and sexuality Danielle Clarke; 11. Shakespeare and classicism Heather James; 12. Poetry in Shakespeare’s plays Patrick Cheney; 13. Poetry and performance David Schalkwyk; 14. Reception and influence Sasha Roberts; Reference works on Shakespeare’s poetry.