Shakespeare and Renaissance Literature before Heterosexuality

Download or read book Shakespeare and Renaissance Literature before Heterosexuality written by R. Bach and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-12-11 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Shakespeare has been misread for centuries as having modern ideas about sex and gender.This book shows how in the Restoration and Eighteenth century, Shakespeare's plays and other Renaissance texts were adapted to make them conform to these modern ideas.Through readings of Shakespearean texts, including King Lear, Antony and Cleopatra, and Othello, and other Renaissance drama, the book reveals a sexual world before heterosexuality. Shakespeare and Renaissance Literature Before Heterosexuality shows how revisions and criticism of Renaissance drama contributed to the emergence of heterosexuality.It also shows how changing ideas about status, adultery, friendship, and race were factors in that emergence.