Argues that Shakespeare is anti-political, dissecting the nature of the nation-state and charting a surprising form of resistance to it, using sovereign power against itself to engineer new forms of selfhood and relationality that escape the orbit of the nation-state. It is these new experiences that the book terms 'the life of the flesh'.
"Gil argues that Shakespeare supports neither monarchical nor civic republican values, as both depend on the sovereign power of the state to control the bodies of subjects. . . Gil's introduction is especially insightful in relating his theory to the present. Summing up: Recommended." CHOICE
"The strength of the book lies in the clarity of Gil's basic thesis and the consistency with which it is applied." Julia Reinhard Lupton, Renaissance Quarterly
"...ambitious, incisive, and sophisticated. It is excellent... Shakespeare's Anti-Politics will be of tremendous interest to a range of scholars interested in Shakespeare's relationship to politics, the body, and performance." James Kuzner, Shakespeare Quarterly
"The strength of the book lies in the clarity of Gil's basic thesis and the consistency with which it is applied." Julia Reinhard Lupton, Renaissance Quarterly
"...ambitious, incisive, and sophisticated. It is excellent... Shakespeare's Anti-Politics will be of tremendous interest to a range of scholars interested in Shakespeare's relationship to politics, the body, and performance." James Kuzner, Shakespeare Quarterly