The Biblical Covenant in Shakespeare

The theo-political idea of covenant-a sacred binding agreement-formalizes relationships and inaugurates politics in the Hebrew Bible, and it was the most significant revolutionary idea to come out of the Protestant Reformation.  Central to sixteenth-century theology, covenant became the cornerstone of the seventeenth-century English Commonweath, evidenced by  Parliament's passage of the Protestation Oath in 1641 which was the "first national covenant against popery and arbitrary government," followed by the Solemn League and Covenant in 1643. Although there are plenty of books on Shakespeare and religion and Shakespeare and the Bible, no recent critics have recognized how Shakespeare's plays popularized and spread the covenant idea, making it available for the modern project.  By seeding the plays with allusions to biblical covenant stories, Shakespeare not only lends ethical weight to secular lives but develops covenant as the core idea in a civil religion or a founding myth of the early-modern political community, writ small (family and friendship) and large (business and state).  Playhouse relationships, especially those between actors and audiences, were also understood through the covenant model, which lent ethical shading to the convention of direct address.  Revealing covenant as the biblical beating heart of Shakespeare's drama, this book helps to explain how the plays provide a smooth transition into secular society based on the idea of social contract.  

List of contents

1. Introduction.- 2. Abraham's Ordeal and Historical Change:  From Sacrifice to Ethics.- 3.The Merchant of Venice:  Shylock and Covenantal Interplay.- 4. Hamlet, Judge of Denmark, in a "Time. . .Out of Joint".- 5.Falstaff, Prophet of Covenant in The Henriad.- 6.Tragic Monarchy:  Saul and Macbeth.- 7. Epilogue: Shakespeare and Milton Grapple with Kings.

About the author

 Mary Jo Kietzman is Associate Professor of English at the University of Michigan-Flint, USA.  She is the author of The Self-Fashioning of an Early-Modern Englishwoman: Mary Carleton's Many Lives(2004).  She has published numerous articles on a wide range of English Renaissance authors and subjects, including Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet, and "The Rape of Lucrece."  
 

Summary

The theo-political idea of covenant—a sacred binding agreement—formalizes relationships and inaugurates politics in the Hebrew Bible, and it was the most significant revolutionary idea to come out of the Protestant Reformation.  Central to sixteenth-century theology, covenant became the cornerstone of the seventeenth-century English Commonweath, evidenced by  Parliament’s passage of the Protestation Oath in 1641 which was the “first national covenant against popery and arbitrary government,” followed by the Solemn League and Covenant in 1643. Although there are plenty of books on Shakespeare and religion and Shakespeare and the Bible, no recent critics have recognized how Shakespeare’s plays popularized and spread the covenant idea, making it available for the modern project.  By seeding the plays with allusions to biblical covenant stories, Shakespeare not only lends ethical weight to secular lives but develops covenant as the core idea in a civil religion or a founding myth of the early-modern political community, writ small (family and friendship) and large (business and state).  Playhouse relationships, especially those between actors and audiences, were also understood through the covenant model, which lent ethical shading to the convention of direct address.  Revealing covenant as the biblical beating heart of Shakespeare’s drama, this book helps to explain how the plays provide a smooth transition into secular society based on the idea of social contract.  

Additional text

“Kietzman’s work is an important contribution to Shakespearean scholarship. The interrelationship of theology, politics, and literature in early modern England is highly complex and cannot be overestimated. Yet she persuasively brings these tortuous streams together in Shakespeare’s works in a robust, interdisciplinary fashion. This work is not only integral in Shakespearean interpretation, but it is also highly recommended for those interested in the intricate connections between theology, politics, and dramatic literature in the early modern period.” (Brian L. Hanson, Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 72 (4), 2019)
“There are moments of insight in this book that deserve consideration, especially concerning the importance of covenant theology to early modern religious, political, and literary culture.Fundamentally, the book calls needed attention to an undervalued element of Reformation culture.” (Thomas Fulton, Modern Philology, Vol. 117 (1), May, 2019)

Report

"Kietzman's work is an important contribution to Shakespearean scholarship. The interrelationship of theology, politics, and literature in early modern England is highly complex and cannot be overestimated. Yet she persuasively brings these tortuous streams together in Shakespeare's works in a robust, interdisciplinary fashion. This work is not only integral in Shakespearean interpretation, but it is also highly recommended for those interested in the intricate connections between theology, politics, and dramatic literature in the early modern period." (Brian L. Hanson, Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 72 (4), 2019)
"There are moments of insight in this book that deserve consideration, especially concerning the importance of covenant theology to early modern religious, political, and literary culture.Fundamentally, the book calls needed attention to an undervalued element of Reformation culture." (Thomas Fulton, Modern Philology, Vol. 117 (1), May, 2019)

Product details

• Authors: Mary Jo Kietzman
• Publisher: Springer, Berlin
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.01.2019
• EAN: 9783319891095
• ISBN: 978-3-31-989109-5
• No. of pages: 254
• Dimensions: 148 mm x 210 mm x 14 mm
• Weight: 351 g
• Illustrations: XI, 254 p.
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > General and comparative literary studies; Theaterwissenschaft, B, Shakespeare, Literature, Theatre Studies, Literature, Cultural and Media Studies, Geschichte der darstellenden Künste, Theater—History, Theatre History, Early Modern and Renaissance Literature, Literature, Modern, Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616