Shakespeare’s Crowd Disorder: Jack Cade and Enclosure Riots in 2 Henry VI (1590)
Résumé
Rioting in 2 Henry VI is linked to two topical issues: the enclosure of commons for the purpose of sheep-raising and the increase of masterless men. Evicted tenants were considered as potential mercenaries or “ready material for riot and insurrection.” In 2 Henry VI, the petitioners’ discontent and Jack Cade’s utopianism and hubris are taken over by seditious subterranean political forces epitomized by the Duke of York, even if Jack Cade clings to his anti-enclosure, communism-like ideal. Shakespeare’s history play offers a qualified view of the topic, reflecting both sides of the contemporary enclosure debates and bringing it a step further with biblical references.
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