Shakespeare and Gender: A History

Over the past 20 years, feminist criticism has done more than any other form of literary criticism in bringing significant changes in how Shakespeare‘s works are read and studied. What is more, feminist criticism has changed the way English departments hire faculty, how the literary canon is conceived, how classes are taught and what gets published in journals. This anthology charts some of the major developments and accomplishments in Shakespearian gender studies over the last two decades. It includes readings in individual essays of Much Ado About Nothing, The Rape of Lucrece, Hamlet, Henry VI, Othello, The Tempest, Richard III, The Taming of the Shrew, The Merchant of Venice and Twelfth Night.