Literature & Literary Studies
Description
Many early modern plays use poison, most famously Hamlet, where the murder of Old Hamlet showcases the range of issues poison mobilises. Its orchard setting is one of a number of sinister uses of plants which comment on both the loss of horticultural knowledge resulting from the Dissolution of the Monasteries and also the many new arrivals in English gardens through travel, trade, and attempts at colonisation. The fact that Old Hamlet was asleep reflects unease about soporifics troubling the distinction between sleep and death; pouring poison into the ear smuggles in the contemporary fear of informers; and it is difficult to prove. This book explores poisoning in early modern plays, the legal and epistemological issues it raises, and the cultural work it performs, which includes questions related to race, religion, nationality, gender, and humans' relationship to the environment.
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Endorsements
The most famous play in English literature centres on the poisoning of Hamlet's father. However, it is only one of many examples of poisoning in plays of the period. Remarkably easy to stage and to act, its popularity at the time is perhaps not surprising, but it also allowed plays to explore a number of important contemporary issues. The death of Hamlet's father occurs in an orchard, and is one of a number of sinister uses of plants which comment on both the loss of horticultural knowledge resulting from the Dissolution of the Monasteries and also the many new plants arriving in English gardens through travel, trade, and attempts at colonisation. The fact that Old Hamlet was asleep reflects unease about soporifics troubling the distinction between sleep and death; pouring poison into the ear smuggles in the contemporary fear of informers; and, as Hamlet himself painfully discovers, poisoning is remarkably difficult to prove. This book explores poison in a wide range of early modern plays, including the legal and epistemological issues that it raises, and addresses questions of race, religion, nationality, gender, and the relationship between humans and the environment.
Reviews
The most famous play in English literature centres on the poisoning of Hamlet's father. However, it is only one of many examples of poisoning in plays of the period. Remarkably easy to stage and to act, its popularity at the time is perhaps not surprising, but it also allowed plays to explore a number of important contemporary issues. The death of Hamlet's father occurs in an orchard, and is one of a number of sinister uses of plants which comment on both the loss of horticultural knowledge resulting from the Dissolution of the Monasteries and also the many new plants arriving in English gardens through travel, trade, and attempts at colonisation. The fact that Old Hamlet was asleep reflects unease about soporifics troubling the distinction between sleep and death; pouring poison into the ear smuggles in the contemporary fear of informers; and, as Hamlet himself painfully discovers, poisoning is remarkably difficult to prove. This book explores poison in a wide range of early modern plays, including the legal and epistemological issues that it raises, and addresses questions of race, religion, nationality, gender, and the relationship between humans and the environment.
Author Biography
Lisa Hopkins is Professor of English at Sheffield Hallam University;
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View all titlesBibliographic Information
- Publisher Manchester University Press
- Publication Date August 2023
- Orginal LanguageEnglish
- ISBN/Identifier 9781526159922 / 1526159929
- Publication Country or regionUnited Kingdom
- FormatPrint PDF
- Pages312
- ReadershipGeneral/trade
- Publish StatusPublished
- Dimensions234 X 156 mm
- Biblio NotesDerived from Proprietary 5359
- Reference Code13715
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