Refiguring Mimesis

Overview

Critical theories from the 1960s and 1970s on the crisis of representation in early modern drama are reconsidered in this volume of provocative and radical essays from contemporary theorists. Shakespearean and non-Shakespearean texts are analyzed according to the arguments of such pivotal thinkers as Julia Kristeva, Jacques Derrida, and Maurice Blanchot. Renaissance drama examined through the lens of modern theories reveals that straightforward realism is only one level of discourse present in mimesis. The appearance of sexuality, masculinity, and speculation in the texts suggests that early modern drama was revising reality as well as presenting it.

Author Biography

Jonathan Holmes is a lecturer in drama and English at the University of London. He has contributed articles to New Theatre Quarterly and Shakespeare Survey. Adrian Streete is a lecturer in English at Queen's University, Belfast.