Work

Kent's Best Man: Radical Chorographic Consciousness and the Identity Politics of Local History in Shakespeare's 2 Henry VI

Year: 2014

Type: article

Abstract: In this article, the character of Jack Cade in Shakespeare's 2 Henry VI is reconsidered through an exploration of the local history and traditions of Kent. The article shows that Shakespeare, through Cade and his followers, created a sense of local historical consciousness that directly challenges the structures of chronicle history and manifests itself in various acts of self-affirmation. In particular, Shakespeare departed from his sources by giving Cade a Kentish identity. Furthermore, the article offers a challenge to the modern critical consensus that Shakespeare made Cade more violent than he was in the play's chronicle sources.

Source: Journal for Early Modern Cultural Studies

DOI: 10.1353/jem.2014.0009

Author: Stuart Hampton-Reeves

Language: English

Topic: Renaissance Literature and Culture

Subfield: Classics

Field: Arts and Humanities

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

OpenAlex ID: W212044916

FWCI:

Cites: 67

Cited by: 3

Related to: 10