Shakespeare's Political and Economic Language: A Dictionary

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Shakespeare's plays are pervaded by political and economic words and concepts, not only in the histories and tragedies but also in the comedies and romances. The lexicon of political and economic language in Shakespeare does not consist merely of arcane terms whose shifting meanings require exposition, but includes an enormous number of relatively simple words which possess a structural significance in the configuration of meanings. Often operating by such means as puns, they open up a surprising number of possibilities. The dictionary reveals the conceptual nucleus of each term and explores the contexts in which it is embedded. The overlap between the political and economic dimensions of a word in Shakespeare's drama is particularly exciting as he is highly attuned to the interactions of these two spheres of human activity and their centrality in human affairs.

Reviews

Unlike many general and subject dictionaries... this volume by Thomas focuses on the multifunctional rather than the literal meaning of the words. Recommended. * Choice *
The Arden Shakespeare has provided a benchmark for textual interpretation on the stage and academically for over a century. * Morning Star *

Author Bio

Vivian Thomas was formerly Lecturer in English at the universities of Birmingham and Warwick. A graduate of Oxford and Cambridge universities he also studied at Columbia University, New York and the University of Moscow. Previously Lecturer in Economics at the University of St Andrews, he has been Visiting Lecturer at the New University of Lisbon, the universities of Cologne, Gdansk and Valenciennes. His publications include: The Moral Universe of Shakespeares Problem Plays; Shakespeares Roman Worlds; Julius Caesar and Shakespeares Plants and Gardens: A Dictionary (Bloomsbury, 2014).