Harrying

Harry Berger, Jr., was Professor Emeritus of Literature and Art History at the University of California, Santa Cruz. His most recent books are Resisting Allegory: Interpretive Delirium in Spenser's 'Faerie Queene'; Harrying: Skills of Offense in Shakespeare's Henriad; and The Perils of Uglytown: Studies in Structural Misanthropology from Plato to Rembrandt.

• 1. Misanthropology in Richard III 2. "Here, Cousin, Seize the Crown": The Triumphant Fall of Richard, the Self-Harrier 3. Richard's Soliloquy: Richard II, 5.5.1-166 4. Despair in Richard II 5. On the Continuity of the Henriad 6. Falstaff and Harry 7. A Horse Named Cut: 1 Henry IV, 2.1 8. Hydra and Rhizome 9. Interlude: The Clown as Dog 10. Rabbits, Ducks, Lions, Foxes: A Henrician Bestiary 11 The King's Names 12. Harry's Question 13. Harrying the Stage; Henry V as Tetralogical Echo Chamber

"This non-linear structure derives from and supports Berger's express conviction that Shakespeare's plays do not, as commonly asserted, find their true meaning on stage. Rather, he suggests here, they are 'underdetermined' by their theatrical purpose" -- -Emma Smith Times Literary Supplement "Harrying will no doubt surprise and delight readers with the unrivaled close readings Berger is famous for, but what makes this book so resonant is that it works this critical practice across a series of interlocking plays, turning Shakespeare's histories into a powerful 'tetralogical echo chamber.' The effects are dazzling." -- -Nina Levine University of South Carolina