Date of Award
2018
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
English
Abstract
This work defines and analyzes the concepts of fake news and news anxiety in early modern England, arguing that fears about the dishonesty, abundance, and intrusiveness of cheap newsprint became key cultural concerns—concerns that find frequent expression in the literature of the time. Professional theater and commercial news came of age together in England, and the dramatic stage, itself a kind of news venue, proved a trenchant critic of printed news. Other academic works have examined connections between commercial news and professional theater, but mine is the first to examine the theater’s anxious preoccupation with fake news. This study focuses on the role of news, fake news, and news-related anxieties in the plays of Shakespeare.
Recommended Citation
Macey, Richard David, "Fake News and News Anxiety in Early Modern England" (2018). Dissertations. 2973.
https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/2973
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Copyright Statement
Copyright © 2018 Richard David Macey
