Shakespeare, Love and Service

David Schalkwyk is Professor in the Department of English, University of Cape Town.

• Introduction; 1. 'Thou serv'st me, and I'll love thee': service and love in Shakespeare's world; 2. Performance and imagination: The Taming of the Shrew and A Midsummer Night's Dream; 3. The bounds of service and the bonds of love: The Comedy of Errors, As You Like It and The Tempest; 4. 'More than a steward': the sonnets, Twelfth Night, and Timon of Athens; 5. The services of friendship: Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, the sonnets, and Antony and Cleopatra; 6. 'I am your own for ever': King Lear and Othello; 7. 'Something more than man': The Winter's Tale.

"Well researched and written, this study shows that for Shakespeare, though freedom from service was nearly unimaginable, masters in his plays are often 'never so truly served as when opposed.' A compelling book...Recommended." - A. DiMatteo, New York Institute of Technology, Choice