Defending Literature in Early Modern England: Renaissance Literary Theory in Social Context (Cambridge Studies in Renaissance Literature and Culture, Series Number 37)

ISBN: 052103518X

Author: Matz, Robert

Condition: New

Robert Matz analyzes the defense of literature in Renaissance England in the context of social transformations of the period, particularly those affecting the aristocracy as it evolved from a feudal warrior class to a civil elite. Through close readings centered on works by Thomas Elyot, Philip Sidney and Edmund Spenser, Matz argues that literature attempted to mediate a complex set of contradictory social expectations. His original study engages with important theoretical work such as Pierre Bourdieu's and offers a substantial critique of New Historicist theory.