This collection of essays is the first to reassess a range of Shakespeare's plays in relation to carnivalesque theory. Contributors re-historicize the carnivalesque in different ways, offering both a developed application, or critique of, Bakhtin's thought.

RONALD KNOWLES is Senior Lecturer in English Literature and has taught at the University of Reading since 1971. His recent books include Henry IV 1&2. 'The Critics Debate', Understanding Harold Pinter and Gulliver's Travels. The Politics of Satire. He has written many articles on Pinter and Shakespeare and is Associate Editor in Britain of The Pinter Reviews. Currently he is editing 2 Henry VI for the Arden Shakespeare.