‘Receyving of Freendshipe’: Seneca's
            <i>De Benificiis</i>
            and Early Modern Amicable Relations

Trevor, Wendy

doi:10.7227/lh.20.1.5

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 4 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…7 7 The seeds of these innovations, however, were present in classical antiquity. Wendy Trevor has recently shown how Seneca’s De beneficiis, which circulated in England during the early modern period, posits that the acts of giving and receiving were central to “the ways that amicable relations between men were arranged, performed, and understood” (60). Trevor compellingly argues that Seneca’s formulations of ideal friendship present an interesting counterpoint to the remarkably pure friendships described by Aristotle and Cicero. …”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Shakespeare and Friendship: An Intersection of Interest

Garrison

2012

Literature Compass

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This essay examines the role of friendship in Shakespeare’s work. Friendship was a highly valued social relation in early modern England and constituted an important theme for humanist writers attempting to revive the virtues associated with classical antiquity. Recent scholarship has demonstrated how the terms of friendship helped legitimate and define social ties ranging from those between literary collaborators to those between political allies. Shakespeare’s work frequently depicts friendship’s complex relationship to rivalry and to marriage, as well as how same‐sex relations offered a means to navigate group environs including the martial encampment, the marketplace, and the court. These depictions at times come into conflict with a major Renaissance humanist concept of friendship as a relationship characterized by parity and lack of self‐interest. This essay focuses on recent critical approaches that have opened new lines of inquiry into the role of friendship in Shakespeare’s plays and poetry, especially with regards to how his work may attempt to reconcile friendship ideals with the increasing opportunities for advancement in England’s expanding economy and increasingly diverse social sphere.

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 99%