Poetics of the Legal Sea in English Renaissance Literature

“Poetics of the Legal Sea in English Renaissance Literature provides compelling insights about the cognitive work of literary language in maritime legal contexts.” —Laurie Ellinghausen, author of Pirates, Traitors, and Apostates: Renegade Identities in Early Modern English Writing

“Tracing relationships between ancient ideas of watery chaos and the imperatives of early modern mercantile states, this erudite study connects early modern legal studies and ecocritical approaches to the sea. Scholars interested in early modern legal studies, critical ocean studies, and the blue humanities will learn much from this lively book.” —Steve Mentz, author of Ocean and An Introduction to the Blue Humanities

“Poetics of the Legal Sea in English Renaissance Literature is an ambitious piece of literary scholarship that promises fresh readings of various early seventeenth-century English literary works in the context of maritime law and early modern maritime history.” —Dan Brayton, author of Shakespeare’s Ocean: An Ecocritical Exploration

“A fine, bold, and daring piece of scholarship. A feat of interpretive might, fascinating in its details, Poetics of the Legal Sea in English Renaissance Literature explores enduring alliances between the oceanic and nautical realms and the realities of early modern English legal, political, and literary pursuits. A must-read for students of the maritime humanities.“—Josiah Blackmore, author of The Inner Sea: Maritime Literary Culture in Early Modern Portugal

Hayley Cotter is a scholar of early modern literature and culture. Her work has appeared in Renaissance Quarterly, Imago Mundi, Spenser Studies, and Quærendo, among other venues.

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