
Harrying
Skills of Offense in Shakespeare's Henriad
Harry Berger(Author)
Fordham University Press
Will be published approx. on 1. September 2015
Book
Paperback/Softback
232 pages
978-0-8232-5663-1 (ISBN)
Description
Harrying considers Richard III and the four plays of Shakespeare's Henriad-Richard II, Henry IV Part 1, Henry IV Part 2, and Henry V. Berger combines close reading with cultural analysis to show how the language characters speak always says more than the speakers mean to say.
Shakespeare's speakers try to say one thing. Their language says other things that often question the speakers' motives or intentions. Harrying explores the effect of this linguistic mischief on the representation of all the Henriad's major figures.
It centers attention on the portrayal of Falstaff and on the bad faith that darkens the language and performance of Harry, the Prince of Wales who becomes King Henry V.
Shakespeare's speakers try to say one thing. Their language says other things that often question the speakers' motives or intentions. Harrying explores the effect of this linguistic mischief on the representation of all the Henriad's major figures.
It centers attention on the portrayal of Falstaff and on the bad faith that darkens the language and performance of Harry, the Prince of Wales who becomes King Henry V.
Reviews / Votes
"This non-linear structure derives from and supports Berger's express conviction that Shakespeare's plays do not, as commonly asserted, find their true meaning on stage. Rather, he suggests here, they are 'underdetermined' by their theatrical purpose" -- -Emma Smith Times Literary Supplement "Harrying will no doubt surprise and delight readers with the unrivaled close readings Berger is famous for, but what makes this book so resonant is that it works this critical practice across a series of interlocking plays, turning Shakespeare's histories into a powerful 'tetralogical echo chamber.' The effects are dazzling." -- -Nina Levine University of South CarolinaMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
346 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8232-5663-1 (9780823256631)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Person
Harry Berger, Jr., was Professor Emeritus of Literature and Art History at the University of California, Santa Cruz. His most recent books are Resisting Allegory: Interpretive Delirium in Spenser's 'Faerie Queene'; Harrying: Skills of Offense in Shakespeare's Henriad; and The Perils of Uglytown: Studies in Structural Misanthropology from Plato to Rembrandt.
Content
1. Misanthropology in Richard III 2. "Here, Cousin, Seize the Crown": The Triumphant Fall of Richard, the Self-Harrier 3. Richard's Soliloquy: Richard II, 5.5.1-166 4. Despair in Richard II 5. On the Continuity of the Henriad 6. Falstaff and Harry 7. A Horse Named Cut: 1 Henry IV, 2.1 8. Hydra and Rhizome 9. Interlude: The Clown as Dog 10. Rabbits, Ducks, Lions, Foxes: A Henrician Bestiary 11 The King's Names 12. Harry's Question 13. Harrying the Stage; Henry V as Tetralogical Echo Chamber

