Shakespeare and Violence

'Seamlessly integrates performance criticism in the pursuit of the book's thesis … an excellent book which I have found indispensable … puts Shakespeare back into the context of our most pressing social problems.' Dympna Callaghan, Studies in English Literature

'This book is an ambitious undertaking in both theory and practice … Shakespeare and Violence will be of interest to the textual and cultural critic as well as to the theater, film, or performance critic.' Renaissance Quarterly

'… excellent book … indispensable in my teaching … puts Shakespeare back into the context of our most pressing social problems …'. Studies in English Literature

'Engagingly erudite and accessibly elusive, Shakespeare and Violence is a page turner, of of the rare scholarly books that I did not want to put down but relished reading cover to cover at once.' Shakespeare Studies

'For anyone interested in encouraging students to appreciate fully Marlowe's influence on early Shakespeare, or in making a play like Coriolanus survive in the classroom, R. A. Foakes's study of Shakespeare and violence is essential. For readers in a dangerous world, this is an informative, well illustrated, valuable - though not all that reassuring - study.' Duncan Salkeld, University College Chichester

'R. A. Foakes's latest book, Shakespeare and Violence, addresses an area of significant interest in Shakespeare studies. The result is a thought-provoking, well-written, and often genuinely interesting study of this subject and its manifestations in Shakespeare's plays.' Theatre Survey

'Ranging widely with eloquence and ease from playtext to theatrical production to film, Foakes frequently offers up an arresting mix of erudition and insight. For this reason, Shakespeare and Violence amply repays the reading: there is much of substance to be discovered in Foakes's critical reflections.' Modern Language Review