Literature, politics, and national identity
Subtitle: Reformation to Renaissance
By: Andrew Hadfield.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 1994
Place of publication: Cambridge [England]; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 265
Subjects: English literature -- Early modern, 1500-1700 -- History and criticism; Politics and literature -- Great Britain -- History -- 16th century; Nationalism -- Great Britain -- History -- 16th century; National characteristics, English, in literature; Reformation -- England; Renaissance -- England; Great Britain -- Politics and government -- 1485-1603
Description: For many years C. S. Lewis's dismissal of the greater part of the sixteenth century as a 'drab age' has influenced literary scholars. Andrew Hadfield offers a challenging reinterpretation, through study of the work of some of the century's most important writers, including Skelton, Bale, Sidney, Spenser, Baldwin and the Earl of Surrey.

He argues that all were involved in the establishment of a vernacular literary tradition as a crucial component of English identity, yet also wished to use the category of 'literature' to create a public space for critical political debate.

Conventional assumptions - that pre-modern and modern history are neatly separated by the Renaissance, and that literary history is best studied as an autonomous narrative - are called into question: this book is a study of literary texts, but also a contribution to theories and histories of politics, national identity and culture.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 254-261) and index.