Shakespeare and Childhood

Description

This 2007 collection offered the first definitive study of a surprisingly underdeveloped area of scholarly investigation, namely the relationship between Shakespeare, children and childhood from Shakespeare's time to the present. It offers a thorough mapping of the domain in which Shakespearean childhoods need to be studied, in order to show how studying Shakespearean childhoods makes significant contributions both to Shakespearean scholarship, and to the history of childhood and its representations. The book is divided into two sections, each with a substantial introduction outlining relevant critical debates and contextualizing the rich combination of fresh research and readings of familiar Shakespearean texts that characterize the individual essays. The first part of the book examines the significance of the figure of the child in the Shakespearean canon. The second part traces the rich histories of negotiation, exchange and appropriation that have characterised Shakespeare's subsequent relations to the cultures of childhood in literary realms.

Review of the hardback: 'Shakespeare and Childhood is a collection of essays which makes an important intervention in Shakespearean scholarship ... The volume is a solid engagement with the changing dimensions in Shakespearean scholarship ...' Shravika Damunupola, PhD Candidate, English and American Studies, The University of Manchester Review of the hardback: 'This richly detailed volume is a welcome addition to a growing recognition of the significant relations between children's literature and canonical writing for adults. ... a salient feature of Shakespeare and Childhood is the raising of questions and suggestions for further research. The editors have prepared the way with two appendices: Mark Lawhorn's 'Children in Shakespeare's plays: an annotated checklist' and 'Bibliography of Shakespeare and childhood in English,' prepared by Kate Chedgzoy and Susanne Greenhalgh with Edel Lamb. Anyone who wants to pursue the topic would find these an enormously helpful starting point, as is the case with the articles. I will certainly refer to this book frequently and appreciatively.' Archiv fur das Studium der neueren Sprachen und Literaturen