Drama and the Politics of Generational Conflict in Shakespeare's England

Stephannie S. Gearhart is an Associate Professor at Bowling Green State University, USA.

• Introduction: historicizing generational conflictPart I: Youth1. Blood vs. manners: youth’s quest for independence in The Merchant of Venice2. Familial contracts: financial inheritance in the plays of Jonson and MiddletonPart II: Elders3. "The very latest counsel that ever I shall breathe": 2 Henry IV, Hamlet, and ideological inheritance4 Old fools and serpents’ teeth: defining age and the terms of the parent-child relationship in King LearConclusion: A difficult ageIndex