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.

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.

Of Shakespeares sonnets we know and appreciate many details--the crystalline meter, the exquisite diction, the exhilarating surprise of the "turn" in the final couplet. By contrast, we know very little of their subjects and motives. For this reason, this book does not approach the sonnets as Shakespearean autobiography. Instead, it delineates the customs and beliefs that shaped the sonnets, Shakespeares life, and his world, and considers them in that context. Departing from the traditional rhapsodizing over the sonnets as timeless expressions of love, this book argues for understanding the...