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Richard Wood
Philip Sidney's balanced political rhetoric
Contact rjwood2@hera.shu.ac.uk
Research centre
Humanities Research Centre
Discipline/professional area
English
Outline of research project
I am undertaking an examination of the discursive connections between the literary works of Philip Sidney (1554-1586) - with particular reference to his the Old and New Arcadias - and contemporary theories of government that countenanced a separation of the state constitution from the rule of a sacred monarch. This project will offer a new approach to the tension, often implicit in other critical studies, between Sidney's apparent conservatism and his association with leading Protestant monarchomachs (king-fighters).& My research will recover the political sophistication of Sidney's rhetorical style, often previously defined as 'irresolute' and 'ambiguous'. I will build on the work of Martin N. Raitière, Richard C. McCoy and Blair Worden on the political context of the production of Sidney's works.
Key references
- Greville, Fulke. The Prose Works of Fulke Greville, Lord Brooke. Edited by John Gouws. Oxford: Clarendon, 1986
- McCoy, Richard C. Sir Philip Sidney: Rebellion in Arcadi. Hassocks: Harvester Press, 1979
- Raitière, Martin. 'Faire bitts': Sir Philip Sidney and Renaissance Political Theory. Duquesne Studies in Language and Literature, ser. 4; Pittsburgh: Duquesne University Press, 1984
- Sidney, Philip. The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia (The New Arcadia). Edited by Victor Skretkowicz. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1987
- The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia (The Old Arcadia). Edited by Jean Robertson. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1973
- Worden, Blair. The Sound of Virtue: Philip Sidney's Arcadia and Elizabethan Politics. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996
Director of studies
Dr Matthew Steggle
Supervisors
Professor Lisa Hopkins (l.m.hopkins@shu.ac.uk)
