Shakespeare Legally Speaking: The Law in Shakespeare's Plays Hardcover – July 22, 2025

Drawing upon his five decades of experience in the legal profession and an abiding love of Shakespeare, United States District Judge Thomas W. Thrash has written this lively and informative book about the law in Shakespeare's plays. Shakespeare was not a lawyer, but, as Shakespeare: Legally Speaking demonstrates, he knew much about the law, and this is evidenced in his plays. Although justly praised for the universality of his work, Shakespeare was grounded in the particular English legal system of the late Tudor and early Stuart period. Judge Thrash's commentaries upon the law of that time will help any Shakespeare reader or theatergoer have a better understanding of the peculiarities and odd practices of the day. The subject matter of the book is broader than the law that is taught in law schools and practiced in courts-it encompasses law in the broader sense of how we order and govern our society. Thus, Shakespeare: Legally Speaking addresses larger issues, such as political legitimacy under the law, as they are dramatized in the plays. Read more