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Article: Understanding Shakespeare's England: A Companion for the American Reader.
- Article from:
- Renaissance Quarterly
- Article date:
- September 22, 1994
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1994 The Renaissance Society of America. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Subtitled A Companion for the American Reader, Jo McMurtry's Understanding Shakespeare's England is based on the premise that such a reader is at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to understanding Shakespeare, though, as the opening sentence of the in- troduction informs us in a not unstingy litotes, "American readers
are not without intelligence or imagination . . ." (I). Whether they deserve it or not, such readers may occasionally feel condescended to in this nevertheless informative and well-organized introductory text. With an index and detailed table of contents, Understanding is easy to find one's way around in; it is divided into chapters - "Degree and ...