Reviews for The Age of Dryden

The average rating for The Age of Dryden based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-08-21 00:00:00 James Keene Honestly, I did not know if I should give this book one star or three, so I erred on the side of generosity. I freakin' hate Theory, don't use it, seldom read far into articles that use it, and get in the face of theory and its fans whenever I can. This book really deserves one star for thoroughly accepting theory and crediting it with far more that it deserves to be credited with. On the other hand, it is a pretty fabulous introduction to something evil for those who want to learn about something evil and, choke, how to practice it. I am interviewing one of the authors in "Talking Books," and so won't say more here, but I have written a very long and challenging question about this book for the interview. You may see one of my objections when it is published.

Review # 2 was written on 2016-09-22 00:00:00 Chris Kirkham The application of theory to early modern texts is absolutely central to the way in which they are read today but for students trying to get to grips with both the Renaissance and theory at university, the task is a daunting one. This is a good reader for undergraduates that curates a range of secondary literature generously introduced and annotated by the editors. Organised around a set of key ideas e.g. textuality, identity, appropriation, this brings together a selection of critical articles, sometimes abbreviated, that approach each topic from different angles. The focus is thus on opening up the topics, foregrounding the multiple ways in which we can engage with them, rather than pushing a single, orthodox way of thinking. The caveat is that this was published in 2005 and so, inevitably, maps its own moment, and the field has continued to develop in the 11 years since then. All the same, this is a good introduction for students needing to understand the breadth of Renaissance studies in the 21st century.