Taking Exception to the Law

"Organized around an elegantly theorized vision of literature as positioned to 'take exception to' the law and legal institutions to which it nevertheless remains immanent, this volume presents a collection of essays by several of the foremost scholars working in the field of literature and law in the early modern period. Hardly merely another collection, this volume presents original, advanced recent work in early modern law, literature, and culture, together with a fine introduction by Grant Williams that at once summarizes and advances the state of the field. Necessary reading for those interested in the field and, indeed, for those interested in early modern English literature and culture generally." -- Luke Wilson, Department of English, The Ohio State University

Taking Exception to the Law explores how a range of early modern English writings responded to injustices perpetrated by legal procedures, discourses, and institutions.

Taking Exception to the Law explores how a range of early modern English writings responded to injustices perpetrated by legal procedures, discourses, and institutions. From canonical poems and plays to crime pamphlets and educational treatises, the essays engage with the relevance and wide appeal of legal questions in order to understand how literature operated in the early modern period.

Justice in its many forms – legal, poetic, divine, natural, and customary – is examined through insightful and innovative analyses of a number of texts, including The Merchant of Venice, The Faerie Queene, and Paradise Lost. A major contribution to the growing field of law and literature, this collection offers cultural contexts, interpretive insights, and formal implications for the entire field of English Renaissance culture.