- 288 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
About This Book
An investigation into modes of early modern English literary 'indirection, ' this study could also be considered a detective work on a pseudonym attached to some late sixteenth-century works. In the course of unmasking 'R.L.', McCarthy scrutinizes devices employed by writers in the Sidney coterie: punning, often across languages; repetitio-insistence on a sound, or hiding two persons 'under one hood'; disingenuous juxtaposition; evocation of original context; differential spelling (intended and significant). Among McCarthy's stunning-but solidly underpinned-conclusions are: Shakespeare used the pseudonym 'R.L.' among other pseudonyms; one, 'William Smith', was also his 'alias' in life; Shakespeare was at the heart of the Sidney circle, whose literary programme was hostile to Elizabeth I; and his work, composed mainly from the late 1570s to the early 90s, occasionally 'embedded' in the work of others, was covertly alluded to more often than has been recognized.
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Table of contents
- Cover
- Half Title
- Dedication
- Title
- Copyright
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- List of Tables
- Acknowledgements
- Preface
- List of Abbreviations
- Introduction - Highways and Labyrinths
- 1 First Candidate - Robert Langham, 'El Prencipe Negro'
- 2 Supposes
- 3 Second Candidate - Dom Diego
- 4 More Supposes
- 5 Third Candidate - Friend of Richard Barnfield
- 6 Further Supposes
- 7 Fourth Candidate - Dick of Lichfield
- 8 Last Supposes
- 9 R.L.'s Biography
- Envoi
- Bibliography
- Index