The Old King and the Elder Brother: As You Like It, Scripture, and the Problem of Political Resistance
This article argues that Shakespeare's As You Like It stages Reformation-era concerns over political theology, specifically regarding the question of resistance to a superior. It contends that in the relationship of the feuding brothers, Oliver and Orlando, Shakespeare makes two significant all...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group
[2018]
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| In: |
Reformation
Year: 2018, Volume: 23, Issue: 2, Pages: 154-174 |
| IxTheo Classification: | CD Christianity and Culture CG Christianity and Politics HA Bible KAG Church history 1500-1648; Reformation; humanism; Renaissance KBF British Isles KDE Anglican Church |
| Further subjects: | B
Obedience
B Resistance B Prodigal Son B Saul B As You Like It B Scripture B David B Protestantism B Television comedies B Legitimacy B Political Theology B William Shakespeare |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) |
| Summary: | This article argues that Shakespeare's As You Like It stages Reformation-era concerns over political theology, specifically regarding the question of resistance to a superior. It contends that in the relationship of the feuding brothers, Oliver and Orlando, Shakespeare makes two significant allusions to the Bible: the parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15 and the story of David and the tyrannous king Saul in 1 Samuel. Critics of the play dispute whether it should be read as a conservative endorsement of established power or a subversive attack on it, but the article asserts that Shakespeare's view of the matter is too subtle for such a binary. He recognizes that the scriptures overtly uphold temporal authority, even as they implicitly challenge and chasten it. As You Like It suggests that if princes and elder brothers possess authority by right of birth they are at the same time accountable for it. |
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| ISSN: | 1752-0738 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Reformation
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/13574175.2018.1519177 |