Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction. “Like the old tale”
Chapter 1. “Tell thou the tale”: Shakespeare’s Taming of the Folktale in The Taming of the Shrew
Chapter 2. “They will not intercept my tale”: Folk and Classical Traditions in Titus Andronicus
Chapter 3. “Have I encompassed you?”: Translating the Folktale into Honesty and English in The Merry Wives of Windsor
Chapter 4. “You shall not know”: Portia, Power, and the Folktale Sources of The Merchant of Venice
Chapter 5. “From point to point this story know”: Folktale Knowledge and Characterization in All’s Well that Ends Well
Chapter 6. “Rely upon it till my tale be heard”: Fossilized Folktales in Measure for Measure
Chapter 7. “Take pieces for the figure’s sake”: The Folktale Sources and Models of Cymbeline
Bibliography

About the Author

Charlotte Artese is associate professor of English at Agnes Scott College. She has published articles on The Faerie Queene and Utopia as well as on Shakespeare’s folktale sources.

Reviews

Charlotte Artese’s Shakespeare’s Folktale Sources is set to become the go-to study for anyone interested in how Shakespeare put folktales to use in his plays. Artese has done extensive research in English, French, and German archives many of us would not be very adept at navigating. The landscape of folk influence was complicated and uneven, with tales circulating in multiple versions and multiple languages, and being transmitted both textually and orally. Although Artese’s study focuses on Shakespeare, she displays a solid knowledge of Renaissance drama more broadly. Each chapter concludes with a bibliography of different versions of the folktales under consideration, an especially valuable feature of the book that will establish a framework for future scholarship.
*SEL: Studies in English Literature 1500-1900*