Product Description

King-led outlaw defiance, riotous lords of misrule, proud midsummer mock kings, and stately Inns-of-Court princes: in diverse ways all were reflections of the dominant social order in the Medieval and Tudor periods and, as this book shows, all influenced the writings of Shakespeare and his contemporaries. Mock Kings considers kingship in the light of contemporary accounts of elected kings in outlaw and rebel groups, and compares them with the phenomenon of festive mock kings. The result is a complex picture of interrelation between festive and more serious opposition to the dominant order, as well as the discovery of a midsummer mock-king play tradition. The second part of the book considers the professional theatre from the late 1580s to the mid-Jacobean period, and demonstrates that mock-king patterns, found in less literary contexts, form the structure of many scripted plays. The popularity of some of the minor dramas is understood for the first time when their festive patterns are identified and, by contrast, Shakespeare's genius in transforming inherited structures into complex works of art is thrown into relief. The book shows that serious reflection on the nature of kingship was maintained throughout Renaissance drama.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2822867 in Books
• Published on: 1991-03-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 304 pages

Review
"Learned in its depiction of mock rule and evocative in its exploration of a theme in Elizabethan drama."--Speculum
"Will serve upper-divisional undergraduates and graduate students well....[The book's] merits...are plentiful and worthwhile."--Choice
"Billington's work is well-researched, informative, and provocative....This is a substantial contribution to our knowledge of both the literature and the social customs of the early-modern period in England, and it should have particular value to anyone concerned with the possibilities for interdisciplinary research in this field."--Albion
"The ritual' under discussion is the election of a lord of misrule, the mock king' figure...Billington's study adds significantly to our knowledge about this practice."--Medieval and Renaissance Drama in England