Focusing on late sixteenth to mid-seventeenth century literature, the book explores how early modern English writers utilized various literary forms such as dumb shows, allegory, and rhyme to shape and preserve national memory. Kyle Pivetti presents a compelling argument about the significance of these artistic expressions in reflecting and constructing a collective identity during a pivotal historical period.
In the current climate of global military conflict and terrorism, Shakespeare at Peace offers new readings of Shakespeare’s plays, illuminating a discourse of peace previously shadowed by war and violence. Using contemporary examples such as speeches, popular music, and science fiction adaptations of the plays, Shakespeare at Peace reads Shakespeare’s work to illuminate current debates and rhetoric around conflict and peace. In this challenging and evocative book, Garrison and Pivetti re-frame Shakespeare as a proponent of peace, rather than war, and suggest new ways of exploring the vitality of Shakespeare’s work for politics today.