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LEADER 03149cam a2200421 i 4500

001 on1509185569;

003 OCoLC;

005 20260217140411.8;

008 250319t20252025njua b 001 0 eng d;

019 a| 1509185579;

020 a| 9780691269986;

020 a| 069126998Xq| paperback;

020 a| 0691269998q| hardcover;

020 a| 9780691269993q| hardcover;

035 a| (OCoLC)1509185569z| (OCoLC)1509185579;

050 4 a| PR651b| .G46 2025;

082 04 a| 822.3093552| 23/eng/20251212;

100 1 a| Ghose, Indira,e| author.1| https://id.oclc.org/worldcat/entity/E39PCjCCcmX73TFh8gvQKtCXq3=| ^A439885;

245 12 a| A defence of pretence :b| civility and the theatre in early modern England /c| Indira Ghose.;

264 1 a| Princeton, New Jersey :b| Princeton University Press,c| [2025];

300 a| ix, 266 pages :b| illustrations ;c| 24 cm;

336 a| textb| txt2| rdacontent;

337 a| unmediatedb| n2| rdamedia;

338 a| volumeb| nc2| rdacarrier;

504 a| Includes bibliographical references and index.;

505 0 a| Introduction -- Castiglione, The Merchant of Venice, and the Imperative of Style -- Manners and the Market -- Theatricality and Lies in Coriolanus -- Sejanus and the Degradation of Civility -- Wit and the Art of Jesting -- Conclusion.;

520 a| "How the drama of Shakespeare's time demonstrates the tensions within civility. Is civility merely a matter of reinforcing status and excluding others? Or is it a lubricant in a polarised world, enabling us to overcome tribal loyalties and cooperate for the common good? In A Defence of Pretence, Indira Ghose argues that it is both. Ghose turns to the drama of Shakespeare's time to explore the notion of civility. The theatre, she suggests, was a laboratory where many of the era's conflicts played out. The plays test the precepts found in treatises on civility and show that, in the complexity and confusion of human life, moral purity is an illusion. We are always playing roles. In these plays, as in social life, pretence is inescapable. Could it be a virtue? Civility, Ghose finds, is radically ambiguous. The plays of Shakespeare, Jonson and Middleton, grappling with dissimulation, lies and social performance, question the idea of a clear-cut boundary between sincerity and dissembling, between truth and lies. What is decisive is the use to which our play-acting is put. A pretence of mutual respect might serve an ethical end: to foster a sense of common purpose. In life, as in drama, the concept of the common good might be a fiction, but one that is crucial for human society." --c| Adapted from back cover.;

650 0 a| Courtesy in literature.=| ^A153823;

650 0 a| English dramay| Early modern and Elizabethan, 1500-1600x| History and criticism.=| ^A799;

650 0 a| English dramay| 17th centuryx| History and criticism.=| ^A58982;

949 a| Order on Demandw| ASISh| JOYNER219;

960 o| 1s| 32.00u| JENGz| USD;

961 f| DMDm| 138099;

596 a| 1;

998 a| 6722245;

999 a| ORDER ON DEMANDw| ASISc| 1i| 6722245-1001l| JYBPDDAPm| JOYNERr| Ys| Yt| JYBPDDAPUu| 4/21/2026;

A defence of pretence : civility and the theatre in early modern England / Indira Ghose.

Author/creator	Ghose, Indira author.
Format	Book
Publication	Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [2025]
Copyright Date	©2025
Description	ix, 266 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Subjects	Courtesy in literature. English drama--Early modern and Elizabethan, 1500-1600. --History and criticism. English drama--17th century. --History and criticism.

Contents	Introduction -- Castiglione, The Merchant of Venice, and the Imperative of Style -- Manners and the Market -- Theatricality and Lies in Coriolanus -- Sejanus and the Degradation of Civility -- Wit and the Art of Jesting -- Conclusion.
Abstract	"How the drama of Shakespeare's time demonstrates the tensions within civility. Is civility merely a matter of reinforcing status and excluding others? Or is it a lubricant in a polarised world, enabling us to overcome tribal loyalties and cooperate for the common good? In A Defence of Pretence, Indira Ghose argues that it is both. Ghose turns to the drama of Shakespeare's time to explore the notion of civility. The theatre, she suggests, was a laboratory where many of the era's conflicts played out. The plays test the precepts found in treatises on civility and show that, in the complexity and confusion of human life, moral purity is an illusion. We are always playing roles. In these plays, as in social life, pretence is inescapable. Could it be a virtue? Civility, Ghose finds, is radically ambiguous. The plays of Shakespeare, Jonson and Middleton, grappling with dissimulation, lies and social performance, question the idea of a clear-cut boundary between sincerity and dissembling, between truth and lies. What is decisive is the use to which our play-acting is put. A pretence of mutual respect might serve an ethical end: to foster a sense of common purpose. In life, as in drama, the concept of the common good might be a fiction, but one that is crucial for human society." -- Adapted from back cover.
Bibliography note	Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN	9780691269986
ISBN	069126998X paperback
ISBN	0691269998 hardcover
ISBN	9780691269993 hardcover

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