English Renassance Studies is dedicated to publishing essays, reviews and other resources on the writers of the English Renaissance.
Regular updates and articles on a wide range of topics relating to the English Renaissance can be viewed on our blog.
Academic papers are published complete with notes, translations and comprehensive bibliographies and are available for download in PDF format for a small fee.
The first paper, Describing Machiavel, looks at how Bacon was influenced by Machiavelli but attempted to keep the “corrupt” aspects of his work at arm’s length. Machiavelli will be making more appearances in upcoming essays on Shakespeare. The influence of Machiavelli on the English Renaissance will be one of the continuing themes of this site.
The second paper, Magi Imaginationis is about the role of magic and alchemy in The Tempest (Shakespeare), The Alchemist (Jonson) and New Atlantis (Bacon).
The third paper, Precipitous Romeo and Peremptory Petruchio compares and contrasts those two characters in the pursuit of love.
Newly Published
I have just published my M. A. thesis, Janus of Imagination, which is about Francis Bacon, his theory of the imagination and The Wisdom of the Ancients. The thesis is published with a complete bibliography. Next year I will add notes and translations of the Latin quotations.
Coming Soon!
I have two more papers that need to be uploaded when I get time!
- A Movèd Prince: The Judgement of Prince Escalus in Romeo and Juliet
- The Politics of “Occasion” in King Lear
Current Research
- Fratricide in Hamlet.
- A consideration of the relationship between Othello and Iago and the question of control.
Contributions Welcome
I also welcome papers and other contributions on any subject appertaining to that rich and fascinating period which has come to be known, not without controversy, as the English Renaissance. If you wish to submit anything for consideration, please hit the “Contact” tab at the top of the page.
Thanks again for visiting this website.
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Best wishes
David Hurley
