Heather James examines the ways in which Shakespeare handles the inheritance and transmission of the Troy legend. She argues that Shakespeare's use of Virgil, Ovid and other classical sources demonstrates the appropriation of classical authority in the interests of developing a national myth, and goes on to distinguish Shakespeare's deployment of the myth from 'official' Tudor and Stuart ideology. James traces Shakespeare's reworking of the myth in Troilus and Cressida, Antony and Cleopatra, Cymbeline and The Tempest, and shows how the legend of Troy in Queen Elizabeth's day differed from that in the time of King James. The larger issue the book confronts is the directly political one of the way in which Shakespeare's textual appropriations participate in the larger cultural project of finding historical legitimation for a realm that was asserting its status as an empire.
Overextension is the common pitfall of empires. Why does it occur? What are the forces that cause the great powers of the industrial era to pursue aggressive foreign policies? Jack Snyder identifies r
The eleventh century marked a turning point in the history of the Byzantine Empire. At its start Byzantium was the paramount power in the Mediterranean world, by turns feared, respected and admired. B
The Roman Empire at its height encompassed the majority of the world known to the Romans. This important synthesis of recent findings and scholarship demonstrates how the Romans acquired, kept and con
The notion of empire has in recent years taken on a renewed importance in world politics. US foreign policy has in particular been associated with this concept by both critics and supporters of Americ
The notion of empire has in recent years taken on a renewed importance in world politics. US foreign policy has in particular been associated with this concept by both critics and supporters of Americ
This volume examines Romantic literary discourse in relation to colonial politics and the peoples and places with which the British were increasingly coming into contact. It investigates topics from s
Reveals the role played by political and economic elites in the privileging of civilian commercial nuclear energy over other options, such as solar, in the United States after 1945.
From 1926 Britain fell into a condition of deep national crisis, which seemed to threaten its domestic stability and international power. By 1932 the effort to contain these problems had transformed British politics and policy. Strains produced by three-party politics, economic recession and imperial difficulties resulted during 1931 in such a severe financial and political crisis that the Labour government collapsed and Conservative, Liberal and some Labour leaders joined together in a National government. Despite large public expenditure cuts and tax increases, and despite devaluation of sterling and a new crisis in the Indian Empire, this government obtained the greatest British election victory of modern times. This 1992 book examines all aspects of the crisis together and in depth, using an extensive range of official, institutional and personal papers.
From 1926 Britain fell into a condition of deep national crisis, which seemed to threaten its domestic stability and international power. By 1932 the effort to contain these problems had transformed British politics and policy. Strains produced by three-party politics, economic recession and imperial difficulties resulted during 1931 in such a severe financial and political crisis that the Labour government collapsed and Conservative, Liberal and some Labour leaders joined together in a National government. Despite large public expenditure cuts and tax increases, and despite devaluation of sterling and a new crisis in the Indian Empire, this government obtained the greatest British election victory of modern times. This 1992 book examines all aspects of the crisis together and in depth, using an extensive range of official, institutional and personal papers.
