Overview
āWas Shakespeare gay?ā For years the question has sent experts and fans into a tailspin of confusion. But as scholar Will Tosh argues, this debate misses the point: sex, intimacy, and identity in Elizabethan England were infinitely more complexāand queerāthan we have been taught.
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In this incisive biography, Tosh reveals William Shakespeare as a queer artist who drew on his societyās nuanced understanding of gender and sexuality to create some of English literatureās richest works. During Shakespeareās time, same-sex desire was repressed and punished by the Church and state, but it was also articulated and sustained by institutions across England. Moving through the queer spaces of Shakespeareās lifeāhis Stratford schoolroom, smoky London taverns and playhouses, the royal courtāTosh shows how strongly Shakespeareās early work was influenced by the queer culture of the time, much of it totally integrated into mainstream society. He also uncovers the surprising reason why Shakespeare veered away from his early workās gender-bending homoeroticism.
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Offering a subversive sketch of Elizabethan England, Straight Acting uncovers Shakespeare as one of historyās great queer artists and completely reshapes the way we understand his life and times.
This book title, Straight Acting (The Hidden Queer Lives of William Shakespeare), ISBN: 9781541602670, by Will Tosh, published by Basic Books (September 17, 2024) is available in hardcover. Our minimum order quantity is 25 copies. All standard bulk book orders ship FREE in the continental USA and delivered in 4-10 business days.
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