Writing Under Tyranny
English Literature and the Henrician Reformation
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Oxford University Press
Published:20th Oct '05
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
This hardback is available in another edition too:
- Paperback£53.00(9780199231973)
Writing Under Tyranny: English Literature and the Henrician Reformation spans the boundaries between literary studies and history. It looks at the impact of tyrannical government on the work of poets, playwrights, and prose writers of the early English Renaissance. It shows the profound effects that political oppression had on the literary production of the years from 1528 to 1547, and how English writers in turn strove to mitigate, redirect, and finally resist that oppression. The result was the destruction of a number of forms that had dominated the literary production of late-medieval England, but also the creation of new forms that were to dominate the writing of the following centuries. Paradoxically, the tyranny of Henry VIII gave birth to many modes of writing now seen to be characteristic of the English literary Renaissance.
This is a truly important book, a major contribution to the study of the early Tudor regime, and a masterclass in how to read literature as historical evidence. * Peter Marshall, Journal of Ecclesiastical History *
Walker's readings invest the literature of the early sixteenth century with a complex political urgency that is more often associated with Elizabethan texts. This thoroughly researched and well-written book asks us to rethink the standard narrative of sixteenth-century literary history... For scholars in the fields of literature and history, Writing under Tyranny is destined to become a classic. * Journal of British Studies *
A new book by Greg Walker... is a major event. * Reviews in History *
Walker's ability to invoke very specific points of reference in clarifying the contemporary significance of his texts is ... remarkable... This is an important book, which deserves to have a profound influence upon the ways in which we understand the literature of the Henrician period. * Roderick J. Lyall, Cahiers Elisabethains *
Walker gives voice to a fascinating dialogue between literature and politics... in a compelling work ... This is an actively engaging book, required reading for anyone interested in the relation between literature and politics, and a welcome addition to the ranks of intellectual history. * Alessandra Petrina, Renaissance Quarterly *
...an exceptionally good book..this study will surely remain an important work. * Lucy Wooding, English Historical Review *
Walker's strength is that he understands and engages intimately with the culture of a generation schooled in the rhetorical tradition... Walker is a most acute critic of the literature of an age when most published writers were active politicians and most politicians were writers. * Patrick Collinson, London Review of Books *
...a monumental achievement that furthers our understanding of an area that Walker has done much to illuminate over the years. The careful and scrupulous analysis of a whole range of texts that deserve to be better known, and more meticulously read, has resulted in a serious, scholarly and, in places, profound work, well written throughout. * Andrew Hadfield, Times Literary Supplement *
Walker's book is persuasively written... [and] will undoubtedly win many fans... * Review of English Studies *
Walker's argument about Henry VIII's slide into tyranny is potentially an interesting line of argument... * Sixteenth Century Journal *
ISBN: 9780199283330
Dimensions: 242mm x 164mm x 35mm
Weight: 989g
568 pages