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The Poetics of Melancholy in Early Modern England (review)

sources — what meanings the word had during the period in question and how atheism was related to the upsurge of skepticism. Bertram ends the chapter by linking these concerns with the skeptical attitudes found in the writings of his four central figures. In speaking to diverse audiences, theatrical representations such as Marlowe’s and Shakespeare’s suggest how generally familiar the various forms of skepticism were. Bertram comments that for skeptical playwrights not committed to a specific faith, “The theater was, in fact, an ideal site” (171). One might add that it was for skeptical audience members, too. Overall, the book demonstrates that skepticism generated change even as it responded to it — and not only in the theater. To his credit, Bertram gives us a strong sense of the importance and pervasiveness of not only this dialectic but also skepticism itself. Reading Bertram’s book may provide few surprises for its readers. But in its clarity of presentation, thoroughness of detail, and limpid organization, it provides a splendid account of a complex and quite real aspect of early modern life. ROBERT A. LOGAN University of Hartford