Shakespeare and the Truth of Love

JAMES P. BEDNARZ is Professor of English at Long Island University, USA, where he has received the Trustees' Award for Excellence in Scholarship and the David Newton Award for Excellence in Teaching. He is the author of Shakespeare and the Poets' War (2001). He has published widely in international journals and contributed chapters to a number of high profile collections on Shakespeare and his contemporaries.

• List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction The Mystery of 'The Phoenix and Turtle' Eliminating Essex: Richard II and the Diverse Poetical Essays Literary Politics: The Publication of Love's Martyr Incorporate Selves: Shakespeare's Mythmaking Shakespeare's Poetic Theology Metaphysical Wit from Shakespeare to Donne Epilogue: 'If what parts, can so remaine' Appendix: Diverse Poetical Essays Index

'Plausible and outlandish theories alike are recounted extensively and entertainingly [ ] a delicate and nuanced investigation of the poem's philosophy. [ ] Bednarz's book seeks not to explain the poem so much as to define mystery as one of its integral aesthetic qualities. This it does successfully: by making no claims to be definitive, Shakespeare and the Truth of Love renders a great poem more intriguing and provocative than ever.' Hazel Wilkinson, Times Literary Supplement 'Bednarz provides a detailed examination of allegorical and metaphysical readings of Shakespeare's rarely taught 67-line poem...Highly recommended.' CHOICE