Shakespeare's secret schemers

"Shakespeare's Secret Schemers establishes the existence of a dramatic device in Shakespeare and indicates its presence in the non-Shakespearean drama of the period as well. The secret scheming of the title is scheming formulated and executed by characters who never disclose it, either to the audience or to other characters, and which goes unremarked within the plays.". "The study identifies and interprets the function of several secret schemes important to the plays in which they are found, and also develops an argument about how an appreciation of secret scheming confirms the tendency of recent criticism to emphasize the pervasiveness of political issues in the drama. It shows that behind acts that appear apolitical or idealistic are often schemes based on self-interested or sectarian motives."--BOOK JACKET.