Reinventing the Matter of Britain: Undermining the State in Jacobean Masques

Archer, Jayne, Berry, Philippa, 'Reinventing the Matter of Britain: Undermining the State in Jacobean Masques', In: British Identities and English Renaissance Literature, David J. Baker and Willy Maley (eds),(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), pp.119-134, 2002 RAE2008

Though British history and identity in the early modern period are intensively researched areas, the role of literature in the construction of 'Britishness' has not been thoroughly studied. In this volume, leading Renaissance literary critics review a broad range of texts from the period, including plays of Shakespeare, in view of the new British history. This collection opens up a new kind of literary history with immediate relevance to contemporary discussions of 'Britishness.'