Shakespeare and the Law: A Conversation Among Disciplines and ProfessionsBradin Cormack, Martha C. Nussbaum, Richard Strier "William Shakespeare is inextricably linked with the law. Legal documents make up most of the records we have of his life; trials, lawsuits, and legal terms permeate his plays. Gathering an extraordinary team of literary and legal scholars, philosophers, and even sitting judges, Shakespeare and the Law demonstrates that Shakespeare's thinking about legal concepts and legal practice points to a deep and sometimes vexed engagement with the law's technical workings, its underlying premises, and its social effects. Shakespeare and the Law opens with three essays that provide useful frameworks for approaching the topic, offering perspectives on law and literature that emphasize both the continuities and the contrasts between the two fields. In its second section, the book considers Shakespeare's awareness of common-law thinking and practice through examinations of Measure for Measure and Othello. Building and expanding on this question, the third part inquires into Shakespeare's general attitudes toward legal systems. A judge and former solicitor general rule on Shylock's demand for enforcement of his odd contract; and two essays by literary scholars take contrasting views on whether Shakespeare could imagine a functioning legal system. The fourth section looks at how law enters into conversation with issues of politics and community, both in the plays and in our own world. The volume concludes with a freewheeling colloquy among Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer, Judge Richard A. Posner, Martha C. Nussbaum, and Richard Strier that covers everything from the ghost in Hamlet to the nature of judicial discretion"--Jacket. |
Contents
Shakespeare and the Law Bradin Cormack Martha C Nussbaum
and Richard Strier | 1 |
Part I How to Think Law and Literature in Shakespeare | 19 |
Part II Shakespeares Knowledge of Law Statute Law Case Law | 99 |
Part III Shakespeares Attitudes toward Law Ideas of Justice | 145 |
Part IV Law Politicsand Community in Shakespeare | 201 |
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accept action aesthetic Angelo Antonio appeal argues argument asks audience authority become bond Brutus called Cambridge cause character claim common concept contract court crime criticism culture death decision Desdemona Duke early effect England English equal Escalus essay example fact father find first follows give given Hamlet heir History human Iago idea imagine interest interpretation issue John judge justice kill kind King land Lear literary literature live London matter means Measure moral murder narrative nature notes offers ofhis oflaw ofthe Othello particular perhaps person play play’s political possession possible present principal question reading reason references relation rhetorical Richard Roman rule scene seems sense Shakespeare shows Shylock sources speech statute story suggests tells thing thought tion trial turn understanding Union University Press York