ENG7037 Literature, Religion and Politics in Renaissance England
Dr Adrian Streete (co-ordinator)
This module will be concerned with the rich intersections between literature, religion and politics in Renaissance England.Topics for exploration will include: kingship, deposition, Protestant and Catholic identities, the demonic, representations of the Jew, race and colonialism, the marketplace, men writing women and women writing men.In all of this, we will be considering the political, religious and social changes that characterize the period and examining questions of identity, conformity and radicalism.Plays for examination include Edward II, Doctor Faustus, The Jew of Malta, Richard II, The Merchant of Venice, Othello, The Duchess of Malfi, Women Beware Women, as well as poetry by Sir Philip Sidney, John Donne, Francis Quarles, Fulke Greville, George Herbert, Anne Dowriche, Amelia Lanyer and Rachel Speght. Students will also have the opportunity to examine less familiar texts, including sermons, homilies, and political writings of the period.