| Praise and Paradox: Merchants and Craftsmen in Elizabethan Popular Literature Revised Edition Contributor(s): Stevenson, Laura Caroline (Author), Laura Caroline, Stevenson (Author), Roper, Lyndal (Editor) |
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ISBN: 0521522072 ISBN-13: 9780521522076 Publisher: Cambridge University Press OUR PRICE: $43.69 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: August 2002 Annotation: Praise and Paradox explores the relationship of language, literary structure, and social ideology in the popular Elizabethan literature that praised merchants, industrialists and craftsmen. Part I defines a canon of 296 popular vernacular works, relates the increasing popularity of tales about tradesmen to the development of the English economy and the expansion of the Elizabethan audience, and discusses the social origins of the popular authors. Part II is concerned with the change of the merchant??'s literary image from that of a greedy usurer to that of a ???businessman in armour??? who defended his monarch on the battlefield and entertained princes at lavish banquets. Part III discusses the change in the literary image of the craftsman, who ceased to be a clown or a rebel and became a ???gentle craftsman??? who fought bravely on the battlefield when necessary but was happier in his humble shop, where he sang, danced, and courted pretty girls. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Drama | European - English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh - History | Europe - Great Britain - General |
| Dewey: 823 |
| Series: Past and Present Publications |
| Physical Information: 0.68" H x 6.12" W x 8.48" (0.77 lbs) 268 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - British Isles |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Praise and Paradox explores the relationship of language, literary structure, and social ideology in the popular Elizabethan literature that praised merchants, industrialists and craftsmen. Part I defines a canon of 296 popular vernacular works, relates the increasing popularity of tales about tradesmen to the development of the English economy and the expansion of the Elizabethan audience, and discusses the social origins of the popular authors. Part II is concerned with the change of the merchant's literary image from that of a greedy usurer to that of a 'businessman in armour' who defended his monarch on the battlefield and entertained princes at lavish banquets. Part III discusses the change in the literary image of the craftsman, who ceased to be a clown or a rebel and became a 'gentle craftsman' who fought bravely on the battlefield when necessary but was happier in his humble shop, where he sang, danced, and courted pretty girls. |