“But leaving Shakespear’s Works to their own Defence, and his Detractors to their Envy”. Women’s Early Defence of Shakespeare and their Role in the Rise of Shakespearean Criticism: the Case of Margaret Cavendish

Abstract

Moving from the debates within women’s and gender studies and Shakespeare studies, and in dialogue with the studies dedicated to the analysis of the relationship between the plays of Shakespeare and the writing of Margaret Cavendish, the essay investigates Cavendish’s reading of Shakespeare’s plays and its role within the rise of Shakespeare criticism at a time when Shakespeare’s plays started to be adapted for the stage but only few people encountered them as texts. The aim is to show how Cavendish’s reading of Shakespeare’s plays not only focuses on aspects that would be at the core of Eighteenth-century Shakespeare criticism, but also on issues crucial for future feminist readings of Shakespeare which, since the 1980ies have been unpacking the plays of Shakespeare, exploring the representation of gender, class, race, sexuality, and their hold on women in Shakespeare’s time and beyond.