War and nation in the theatre of Shakespeare and his contemporaries

The book argues that the early-modern period saw the establishment of political, social and theological attitudes to war that were to become accepted as natural in succeeding centuries. Barker's reading of the drama of the period reveals the discontinuities in this project as a way of commenting on the use of the past within modern warfare. The book is also a survey and analysis of literary theory over the last twenty-five years in relation to the issue of war - and develops an argument about the possibilities for the study of literature and war in the future.

Features

*Interdisciplinary approach addressing the early-modern period as one of particular importance in the history of warfare.

*Examines the way that the period helped shape modern attitudes to war.

*Sets Shakespeare in the context of those dramatists who preceded him, as well as his contemporaries and successors.

*Surveys the work of the past and considers the future of criticism in relation to warfare.