This is a rich and engaging history of England and its associations with the Italian Renaissance by Britain's leading Renaissance historian.

This fourth edition of Sir John Hale’s classic history of England and the Italian Renaissance includes a detailed introduction by Edward Chaney surveying scholarly developments since the book was first published. Fourth edition of Sir John Hale’s classic history of England and the Italian Renaissance, first published in 1954. The book’s focus on fundamental issues and basis in little-read primary sources ensures that it endures as an important contribution to historical scholarship. Clear, chronological narrative, beautifully written. Provides essential understanding of the period, illuminating both British and Italian cultural history. The fourth edition includes a new introduction by Edward Chaney who is an expert on Anglo-Italian cultural relations. Chaney surveys the scholarship of the last 50 years and supplies an up-to-date bibliography.

Shakespeare and the Italian Renaissance investigates the works of Shakespeare and his fellow dramatists from within the context of the European Renaissance and, more specifically, from within the context of Italian cultural, dramatic, and literary traditions, with reference to the impact and influence of classical, coeval, and contemporary culture. In contrast to previous studies, the critical perspectives pursued in this volume’s tripartite organization take into account a wider European intertextual dimension and, above all, an ideological interpretation of the 'aesthetics' or 'politics' of intertextuality. Contributors perceive the presence of the Italian world in early modern England not as a traditional treasure trove of influence and imitation, but as a potential cultural force, consonant with complex processes of appropriation, transformation, and ideological opposition through a continuous dialectical interchange of compliance and subversion.

Excerpt from The Italian Renaissance in England Studies The history of the Italian Renaissance in the countries of Europe outside of Italy still remains a subject half unexplored. No account has as yet been written of the successive steps by which Italian culture crossed the Alps, the different directions it took, and the extent of its influence. The purpose of these studies is, therefore, to supply a link in the chain, and trace the Italian influence in England from the beginning of the fifteenth century until the death of Elizabeth. Separate aspects of this have, it is true, been treated by others. Beginning with Warton and Nott, a number of scholars have searched especially for the Italian sources of English poetry. Although in recent years most work of this kind has been accomplished in Germany, Miss Scott's contribution to a similar subject ought not to pass unnoticed in the scholarly annals of our own country. No serious effort has, however, been made to discover a common impulse running through the Italian influences in England: to find at the university, at court, and among the people at large, in different and even opposite directions, the results of one and the same great movement. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.