Despite the explosion of scholarship on Shakespeare in popular culture, too little attention has been paid to the Renaissance itself as an imagined historical period. The English Renaissance in Popular Culture considers popular culture’s confrontations with the history, thought, and major figures of the English Renaissance. Analyzing period films,” appropriations, television productions, popular literature, pastimes such as Ren Faires, and even punk music, its contributors explore the rich ways in which popular culture seeks to engage the Renaissance. Ultimately, this important collection asks how such popular engagements impact the teaching and the cultural importance of English Renaissance literature and history.
