Interweaving Myths in Shakespeare and His Contemporaries

This collected volume proposes new insights into the uses of classical mythology by Shakespeare and his contemporaries, focussing on interweaving processes in early modern appropriations of myth. Opening up methodological perspectives on multi-textuality, its eleven essays show how diverse myths intertwine, how variant versions of individual myths combine to create new meanings, and how myth and history interact in early modern literature.

Traces of the Trojan myth in King John invite an arresting comparison between Constance and Andromache. A fresh look at ancient epyllia and their Renaissance reception builds into a lively reappraisal of Marlowe’s Hero and Leander. A single trope – that of blushing – reveals the complexity of textual interweavings in Venus and Adonis, The Rape of Lucrece andAntony and Cleopatra. Concentrating on specific plays including The Merchant of