Acknowledgements p. vi
Abbreviations and Editions of Shakespeare used p. vii
1 Introduction: Metaphor and Social Subjectivity p. 1
2 Alternative Cleopatras p. 15
2.1 Introduction p. 15
2.2 Renaissance Cleopatras p. 17
2.3 English Cleopatra in the 1590s: the queen's body p. 27
2.4 Shakespeare's Cleopatra p. 48
3 Kent and Synecdochal Native Identity p. 70
3.1 Introduction: commonplace Kent p. 70
3.2 Rebellious Kent: the historical reiteration of opposition p. 82
3.3 Kent in Lear: personification and conflicted identity p. 98
3.4 Conclusion p. 116
4 English Christendom: Metonymy and Metalepsis p. 119
4.1 Introduction p. 119
4.2 Championing Christendom: current affairs, romance and epic p. 124
4.3 Jacobean Christendom p. 137
4.4 Cymbeline: on the edge of Christendom p. 146
5 Conclusion p. 176
Notes p. 183
Bibliography p. 207
Index p. 232