Shakespeare and The Law

Description

In July 2007, the School of Law at the University of Warwick hosted an international conference on ‘Shakespeare and the Law’. This was a truly interdisciplinary event, which included contributions from eminent speakers in the fields of English, history, theatre and law. The intention was to provide a congenial forum for the exploration, dissemination and discussion of Shakespeare’s evident fascination with and knowledge of law, and its manifestation in his works.

The papers included in this volume reflect the diverse academic interests of participants at the conference. The eclectic themes of the edited collection range from analyses of the juristic content of specific plays, as in ‘Consideration, Contract and the End of The Comedy of Errors’, ‘Judging Isabella: Justice, Care and Relationships in Measure for Measure’, ‘Law and its Subversion in Romeo and Juliet’, ‘Inheritance in the Legal and Ideological Debate of Shakespeare’s King Lear’ and ‘The Law of Dramatic Properties in The Merchant of Venice’, to more general explorations of Shakespearean jurisprudence, including ‘Shakespeare and Specific Performance’, ‘Shakespeare and the Marriage Contract’, ‘The Tragedy of Law in Shakespearean Romance’ and ‘Punishment Theory in the Renaissance: the Law and the Drama’.

Editors Biography

Paul Raffield is Professor of Law at the University of Warwick, where he teaches Shakespeare and the Law, Origins of English Law, and Tort Law. He is the author of Shakespeare’s Imaginary Constitution: Late Elizabethan Politics and the Theatre of Law (Oxford, Hart Publishing, 2010) and Images and Cultures of Law in Early Modern England: Justice and Political Power, 1558-1660 (2004). He is co-founder and consultant editor of the journal Law and Humanities.

Gary Watt is Professor of Law at the University of Warwick, UK. He is a National Teaching Fellow and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. In 2009 he was named national ‘Law Teacher of the Year’. He is the founding co-editor of the journal Law and Humanities and his previous books include Trusts and Equity (2003) and Equity Stirring: The Story of Justice Beyond Law (2009).