Hamlet (Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism) » (1st Edition)

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was born in Stratford-upon-Avon where his father was a prosperous glover. His early life is obscure, but he married Anne Hathaway in 1682 with whom he had two children. By 1592 he was establishing himself in London, and over the next twenty years he wrote thirty-seven plays-and contributed to many more-was a prolific poet, and was taken up by several influential patrons. His Sonnets were first printed in 1609 by George Eld for Thomas Thorpe. The identity of Mr. W.H. to whom the Sonnets are dedicated remains a mystery, as does the identity of the aristocratic youth in the Sonnets and the enigmatic Dark Lady.

Adopted at more than 1,000 colleges and universities, Bedford/St. Martin's innovative Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism series has introduced more than a quarter of a million students to literary theory and earned enthusiastic praise nationwide. Along with an authoritative text of a major literary work, each volume presents critical essays, selected or prepared especially for students, that approach the work from several contemporary critical perspectives, such as gender criticism and cultural studies. Each essay is accompanied by an introduction (with bibliography) to the history, principles, and practice of its critical perspective. Every volume also surveys the biographical, historical, and critical contexts of the literary work and concludes with a glossary of critical terms. New editions reprint cultural documents that contextualize the literary works and feature essays that show how critical perspectives can be combined.

About the Series
About This Volume

PART I. HAMLET: THE COMPLETE TEXT

Introduction: Biographical and Historical Contexts

The Complete Text [1974 text, with notes, from The Riverside Shakespeare, edited by G. Blakemore Evans]
Notes on the Text Textual Notes

PART II. HAMLET: A CASE STUDY IN CONTEMPORARY CRITICISM

A Critical History of Hamlet

Feminist Criticism and Hamlet
What Is Feminist Criticism?
Feminist Criticism: Selected Bibliography A Feminist Perspective:
Elaine Showalter, Representing Ophelia: Women, Madness, and the Responsibilities of Feminist Criticism

Psychoanalytic Criticism and Hamlet
What Is Psychoanalytic Criticism?
Psychoanalytic Criticism: A Selected Bibliography A Psychoanalytic Perspective:
Janet Adelman, "Man and Wife Is One Flesh": Hamlet and the Confrontation with the Maternal Body

Deconstruction and Hamlet
What Is Deconstruction?
Deconstruction: A Selected Bibliography A Deconstructionist Perspective:
Marjorie Garber, Hamlet: Giving Up the Ghost

Marxist Criticism and Hamlet
What Is Marxist Criticism?
Marxist Criticism: A Selected Bibliography A Marxist Perspective:
Michael D. Bristol, "Funeral-Bak'd-Meats": Carnival and the Carnivalesque in Hamlet

New Historicism and Hamlet
What Is New Historicism?
New Historicism: A Selected Bibliography A New Historicist Perspective:
Karin S. Coddon, "Suche Strange Desygns": Madness, Subjectivity, and Treason in Hamlet and Elizabethan Culture

Glossary of Critical and Theoretical Terms

About the Contributors