Reading Shakespeare's poems in early modern England

"Reading Shakespeare's Poems in Early Modern England - the first comprehensive study of early modern texts, readings and readers of Shakespeare's poems in print and manuscript - makes a compelling contribution to both Shakespeare studies and the history of the book. Examining the formation of gendered readerships and the uses of 'light' literature, reading practices and manuscript culture, textual forms and transmission, literary taste and the canonisation of Shakespeare, this book explores the dazzling energy and creativity of early modern literary culture. Drawing upon new archival research into the fascinating work of Shakespeare's first readers (both men and women), Roberts argues that historicist criticism can no longer ignore histories of reading."--BOOK JACKET.