Shakespeare and Authorial Networks in Early Modern Drama - Hardcover

by Meghan C. Andrews (Author), Alan B. Farmer (Editor), Elizabeth Zeman Kolkovich (Editor)

'Shakespeare and authorial networks in early modern drama' examines how intertextual exchanges shaped Shakespeare's plays. Drawing on social network theory, it traces his sustained creative dialogue with Michael Drayton, John Marston and George Chapman, showing how shared discourses at cultural institutions and within patronage families informed recurring topics across their works. The study argues that Shakespeare's engagement with institutional and social environments did not require direct membership or patronage; instead, looser ties influenced his authorship. By revealing how thematic and stylistic developments emerged through long-term conversations among playwrights, the book offers new insight into Shakespeare's writing process and collaborative practices. It provides alternative models of authorship, influence and literary exchange that nuance conventional accounts of early modern patronage and highlight the significance of networks in shaping dramatic production.

Back Jacket

'In this original, provocative, and compelling book, Meghan C. Andrews rescues Shakespeare from the romantic clich? of the singular playwright in some lonely garret. Instead, she persuasively locates him as a "company-keeper" within the vibrant social, intellectual, literary, and theatrical worlds of London, as she skillfully traces the connections and collaborations that contributed to Shakespeare becoming Shakespeare.'
--David Scott Kastan, Yale University

'This thought-provoking book introduces us to a different Shakespeare, one in conversation with social networks circulating distinctive ideologies and artistic agendas. A totally new perspective on Shakespeare and his contemporaries.'
--Richard Dutton, Ohio State University

Shakespeare and authorial networks in early modern drama examines how intertextual exchanges shaped Shakespeare's plays. Drawing on social network theory, it traces his sustained creative dialogue with Michael Drayton, John Marston and George Chapman, showing how shared discourses at cultural institutions and within patronage families informed recurring topics across their works. The study argues that Shakespeare's engagement with institutional and social environments did not require direct membership or patronage; instead, looser ties influenced his authorship. By revealing how thematic and stylistic developments emerged through long-term conversations among playwrights, the book offers new insight into Shakespeare's writing process and collaborative practices. It provides alternative models of authorship, influence and literary exchange that nuance conventional accounts of early modern patronage and highlight the significance of networks in shaping dramatic production.

Author Biography

Meghan C. Andrews was Associate Professor of English at Lycoming College
Alan B. Farmer is Associate Professor of English at Ohio State University
Elizabeth Zeman Kolkovich is Associate Professor of English at Ohio State University
Sarah Neville is Associate Professor of English at Ohio State University