Chris Fitter discusses “‘As full of grief as age’: Geriatric Poverty, the Poor Law, and King Lear”. Fitter is Professor of English at Rutgers University, Camden. This talk was included in the session titled, “Shakespeare and Tudor Institutional Change”.

Rethinking Shakespeare in the Social Depths of Politics

“As full of grief as age”: Geriatric Poverty, the Poor Law, and King Lear

The “new social history” has exploded the myth that Shakespeare’s society comprised a culture of obedience. Repositioning his works in the popular politics of his period, social historians and literary critics reassess Shakespeare’s presentation of power and authority.

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Rethinking Shakespeare in the Social Depths of Politics