Cleaning House: the Courtly and the Popular in "The Merry Wives of Windsor"
This paper explores the controversy as to whether The Merry Wives of Windsor is a celebration of royal and aristocratic power and of an imagined national community, or a suburban comedy whose viewpoint is that of the contemporary English middle-class. Drawing on recent work on female authority in ho...
| Veröffentlicht in: | Critical Survey. - Berghahn Books, 1962. - 22(2010), 1, Seite 26-40 |
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| 1. Verfasser: | |
| Format: | Online-Aufsatz |
| Sprache: | English |
| Veröffentlicht: |
2010
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| Zugriff auf das übergeordnete Werk: | Critical Survey |
| Schlagworte: | Behavioral sciences Arts Business Political science Social sciences |
| Zusammenfassung: | This paper explores the controversy as to whether The Merry Wives of Windsor is a celebration of royal and aristocratic power and of an imagined national community, or a suburban comedy whose viewpoint is that of the contemporary English middle-class. Drawing on recent work on female authority in household and community, it is suggested that Shakespeare's Windsor is not only discontinuous with the culture of nobility, but is presented as a parallel world or alternative universe where things are done quite differently. The play thus engages in a critique of the aristocratic values embodied in the Order of the Garter, and offers an alternative source of power in the domestic lives of ordinary women. |
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| ISSN: | 17522293 |