Edinburgh Critical Studies in Shakespeare and Philosophy Series Editor: Kevin Curran Explores the shared investments of theory and performance to reinvigorate Shakespeare studies. 'In a series of inventive and provocative readings, political philosopher Alexander Schulman maps the vicissitudes and destinies of classical philosophy, proto-liberalism and political rationality in the plays of Shakespeare. He discovers deep connections among diverse traditions in order to establish the shape of emerging ideas that continue to organize political discourse today.' Julia Reinhard Lupton, author of Thinking with Shakespeare: Essays on Politics and Life This book is the first attempt by a political theorist to read Shakespeare within the trajectory of political thought as one of the authors of modernity From Shakespeare's interpretation of ancient and medieval politics to his wrestling with issues of legitimacy, religious toleration, family conflict and economic change, Alex Schulman shows how Shakespeare produces a fascinating map of modern politics at its crisis-filled birth. As a result, there are brand new readings of Troilus and Cressida, Coriolanus, Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, King Lear, Richard II and Henry IV, parts I and II, The Merchant of Venice and Measure for Measure. Key Features - Offers original interpretations of many of Shakespeare's plays from the vantage point of political theory - Challenges the reigning viewpoint among political theorists that Shakespeare affirms ancient concepts of political virtue - Extends discussion of Shakespeare's political thought beyond his Elizabethan/Jacobean context - Demonstrates the relevance of narrative and its various modes (comedy, tragedy, history, etc.) to our understanding of the human as a political animal Alex Schulman is a Lecturer in the Political Science department at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He has taught political theory at UCLA, Harvard, Duke, Brown and held a New Faculty Fellowship with the American Council of Learned Societies. He is the author of The Secular Contract: The Politics of Enlightenment (2011). Cover images: Rodin's Thinker (c) Wesley VanDinter/iStockphoto.com and William Shakespeare's Signature (c) JonNaust/iStockphoto.com. Cover design: Stuart Dalziel [EUP logo] www.euppublishing.com

Alex Schulman is a Lecturer in the Political Science department at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He has taught political theory at UCLA, Harvard, Duke, and Brown, and held a New Faculty Fellowship with the American Council of Learned Societies. He is the author of The Secular Contract: The Politics of Enlightenment (2011).