The Greenblatt Reader
1. Edition December 2004
328 Pages, Softcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
Payne, Michael (Editor)
ISBN:
978-1-4051-1566-7
John Wiley & Sons
Stephen Greenblatt is one of the most influential practitioners of new historicism. This Reader makes available in one volume Greenblatt's most important writings on culture, Renaissance studies, and Shakespeare. It also features occasional pieces on subjects as diverse as story-telling and miracles, demonstrating the range of his cultural interests. Taken together, the texts collected here dispel the idea that new historicism is antithetical to literary and aesthetic value.
Acknowledgments.
Introduction: Greenblatt and New Historicism.
Part One: Culture and New Historicism.
1 Culture.
2 Towards a Poetics of Culture.
3 The Touch of the Real.
Part Two: Renaissance Studies.
4 The Wound in the Wall.
5 Marvelous Possessions.
Part Three: Shakespeare Studies.
6 Invisible Bullets.
7 The Improvisation of Power.
8 Shakespeare and the Exorcists.
9 Martial Law in the Land of Cocaigne.
Part Four: Occasional Pieces.
10 Prologue to Hamlet in Purgatory.
11 China: Visiting Rites.
12 China: Visiting Rites (II).
13 Laos is Open.
14 Story-Telling.
Stephen Greenblatt: A Bibliography (1965-2003), compiled by
Gustavo P. Secchi.
Index
Introduction: Greenblatt and New Historicism.
Part One: Culture and New Historicism.
1 Culture.
2 Towards a Poetics of Culture.
3 The Touch of the Real.
Part Two: Renaissance Studies.
4 The Wound in the Wall.
5 Marvelous Possessions.
Part Three: Shakespeare Studies.
6 Invisible Bullets.
7 The Improvisation of Power.
8 Shakespeare and the Exorcists.
9 Martial Law in the Land of Cocaigne.
Part Four: Occasional Pieces.
10 Prologue to Hamlet in Purgatory.
11 China: Visiting Rites.
12 China: Visiting Rites (II).
13 Laos is Open.
14 Story-Telling.
Stephen Greenblatt: A Bibliography (1965-2003), compiled by
Gustavo P. Secchi.
Index
"As a founder of the 'new historicism', Stephen
Greenblatt has done more than establish a critical school; he has
invented a habit of mind for literary criticism, which is
indispensable to the temperament of our times, and crucial to the
culture of the past. This admirable anthology represents the subtle
play of pleasure and instruction, embodied in writings that move
effortlessly between wonder and wisdom." Homi K. Bhabha,
Harvard University
"What a tribute to a long and distinguished
career.""For three decades Stephen Greenblatt has been the
most articulate, thoughtful, and daring voice in early modern
studies. The breadth of his reading is vast, the connections he
makes are unexpected and often revelatory, and his writing is,
quite simply, brilliant. Most of all, his willingness to take
chances has made him an exciting and uniquely provocative critic.
It is wonderful to have these classic essays in a single
collection; and especially to have the most ephemeral of the
pieces, the exquisite meditations on his visits to China and Laos,
easily available. This is a beautifully conceived, indispensable
volume." Stephen Orgel, Stanford University
Greenblatt has done more than establish a critical school; he has
invented a habit of mind for literary criticism, which is
indispensable to the temperament of our times, and crucial to the
culture of the past. This admirable anthology represents the subtle
play of pleasure and instruction, embodied in writings that move
effortlessly between wonder and wisdom." Homi K. Bhabha,
Harvard University
"What a tribute to a long and distinguished
career.""For three decades Stephen Greenblatt has been the
most articulate, thoughtful, and daring voice in early modern
studies. The breadth of his reading is vast, the connections he
makes are unexpected and often revelatory, and his writing is,
quite simply, brilliant. Most of all, his willingness to take
chances has made him an exciting and uniquely provocative critic.
It is wonderful to have these classic essays in a single
collection; and especially to have the most ephemeral of the
pieces, the exquisite meditations on his visits to China and Laos,
easily available. This is a beautifully conceived, indispensable
volume." Stephen Orgel, Stanford University
Stephen Jay Greenblatt is Cogan University Professor at Harvard
University, where he teaches English. A founding editor of the
journal Representations, he is a key figure in what is known as New
Historicism (or cultural poetics). Beginning with the publication
of Renaissance Self-Fashioning in 1984, his books have had a
transformative effect on scholarship and teaching of Shakespeare
and the English Renaissance. He is also the general editor of The
Norton Shakespeare (1997).
Michael Payne is John P. Crozer Professor of English Literature
at Bucknell University. His recent publications include A
Dictionary of Critical and Cultural Theory (1996), Reading
Knowledge (1997), and Renaissance Literature: An
Anthology (2003) - all published by Blackwell
Publishing.
University, where he teaches English. A founding editor of the
journal Representations, he is a key figure in what is known as New
Historicism (or cultural poetics). Beginning with the publication
of Renaissance Self-Fashioning in 1984, his books have had a
transformative effect on scholarship and teaching of Shakespeare
and the English Renaissance. He is also the general editor of The
Norton Shakespeare (1997).
Michael Payne is John P. Crozer Professor of English Literature
at Bucknell University. His recent publications include A
Dictionary of Critical and Cultural Theory (1996), Reading
Knowledge (1997), and Renaissance Literature: An
Anthology (2003) - all published by Blackwell
Publishing.
