"Like Parchment in the Fire": Literature and Radicalism in the English Civil War

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Taylor & Francis, 2006 - History - 212 pages

This volume is a collection of all-new original essays covering everything from feminist to postcolonial readings of the play as well as source queries and analyses of historical performances of the play.

The Merchant of Venice is a collection of seventeen new essays that explore the concepts of anti-Semitism, the work of Christopher Marlowe, the politics of commerce and making the play palatable to a modern audience. The characters, Portia and Shylock, are examined in fascinating detail. With in-depth analyses of the text, the play in performance and individual characters, this book promises to be the essential resource on the play for all Shakespeare enthusiasts.

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Contents

Introduction
1
The Republican Moments of John Milton
21
John Warr the Levellers and John Locke
57
Digger Radicalism Revisited
107
The Delayed Radicalism of the Ranters
155
Notes
185
Bibliography
203
Index
209
Back cover
213
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About the author (2006)

Prasanta Chakravarty was educated at the University of Calcutta and Jadavpur University, India, where he received an MA in English Literature. He took another MA and a PhD in Comparative Literature from the State University of New York at Buffalo. His research focuses on early modern religious and political literature as well as the history of intellectual thought. He is currently Visiting Assistant Professor of English at the University of West Georgia.