Liturgy and Literature in the Making of Protestant England

The Book Of Common Prayer Is One Of The Most Important And Influential Books In English History, But It Has Received Relatively Little Attention From Literary Scholars. This Study Seeks To Remedy This By Attending To The Prayerbook's Importance In England's Political, Intellectual, Religious, And Literary History. The First Half Of The Book Presents Extensive Analyses Of The Book Of Common Prayer's Involvement In Early Modern Discourses Of Nationalism And Individualism, And Argues That The Liturgy Sought To Engage And Textually Reconcile These Potentially Competing Cultural Impulses. In Its Second Half, Liturgy And Literature Traces These Tensions In Subsequent Works By Four Major Authors - Sidney, Shakespeare, Milton, And Hobbes - And Contends That They Operate Within The Dialectical Parameters Laid Out In The Prayerbook Decades Earlier. Central To All These Cultural Negotiations, Both Liturgical And Literary, Is An Emphasis On Symbolic Representations, In Which The Conflict Between Collective And Individual Authority Is Worked Out Through Complex Acts Of Interpretation. Rosendale's Analyses Are Supplemented By A Brief History Of The Book Of Common Prayer, And By An Appendix Which Discusses Its Contents.--book Jacket. Prelude/mattins : Through 1549. The Book Of Common Prayer And National Identity ; The Book Of Common Prayer And Individual Identity -- Interlude : 1549-1662. Representation And Authority In Renaissance Literature ; Revolution And Representation -- Postlude/evensong : 1662-present. Timothy Rosendale. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 222-232) And Index. Cover......Page 1 Half-title......Page 3 Title......Page 5 Copyright......Page 6 Dedication......Page 7 Contents......Page 9 Acknowledgments......Page 10 Note on texts......Page 12 Introduction......Page 13 Prelude/Mattins: through 1549......Page 37 PERFORMING THE NATION......Page 46 LITURGY AND SOCIOPOLITICAL STRUCTURE......Page 52 THE NATIONAL VERNACULAR......Page 72 DISORDER AND SUBJECTIVITY......Page 82 THE INDIVIDUAL VERNACULAR......Page 89 READING THE EUCHARIST IN THE BCP......Page 100 THE REFORMATION AND REPRESENTATION......Page 114 LITURGICAL NEGOTIATIONS......Page 120 Interlude: 1549–1662......Page 129 LITURGY AND LITERATURE......Page 145 SIDNEY AND REDEMPTIVE INTERPRETATION......Page 148 REFORMED POLITICAL REPRESENTATION IN SHAKESPEARE’S HISTORIES......Page 159 CHAPTER 4 Revolution and representation......Page 190 MILTON AND THE SUBJECT OF READING......Page 193 READING, FAITH, AND CITIZENSHIP IN HOBBES......Page 204 Postlude/Evensong: 1662–present......Page 213 APPENDIX “THE booke”: The structure and contents of the 1549 Book of Common Prayer......Page 217 Bibliography......Page 234 Index......Page 245 Cover 1 Half-title 3 Title 5 Copyright 6 Dedication 7 Contents 9 Acknowledgments 10 Note on texts 12 Introduction 13 Prelude/Mattins: through 1549 37 CHAPTER 1 The Book of Common Prayer and national identity 46 PERFORMING THE NATION 46 LITURGY AND SOCIOPOLITICAL STRUCTURE 52 THE NATIONAL VERNACULAR 72 CHAPTER 2 The Book of Common Prayer and individual identity 82 DISORDER AND SUBJECTIVITY 82 THE INDIVIDUAL VERNACULAR 89 READING THE EUCHARIST IN THE BCP 100 THE REFORMATION AND REPRESENTATION 114 LITURGICAL NEGOTIATIONS 120 Interlude: 1549–1662 129 CHAPTER 3 Representation and authority in Renaissance literature 145 LITURGY AND LITERATURE 145 SIDNEY AND REDEMPTIVE INTERPRETATION 148 REFORMED POLITICAL REPRESENTATION IN SHAKESPEARE’S HISTORIES 159 CHAPTER 4 Revolution and representation 190 MILTON AND THE SUBJECT OF READING 193 READING, FAITH, AND CITIZENSHIP IN HOBBES 204 Postlude/Evensong: 1662–present 213 APPENDIX “THE booke”: The structure and contents of the 1549 Book of Common Prayer 217 Bibliography 234 Index 245