‘Courteous exchanges is a needed addition to not only Spenser studies and Shakespeare studies but also the study of courtly rhetoric and performance.’
—John Garrison, Renaissance and Reformation / Renaissance et Réforme

‘A number of critical conversations ought to change in response to Courteous exchanges.’
—Vincent Mennella, Spenser Review

Introduction: Courteous exchanges: Spenser’s and Shakespeare's gentle dialogues with readers and audiences
1 Imprinting and performance in Castiglione’s Book of the Courtier
2 Playing by the rules? Pedagogies of pleasure and inset audiences in Spenser’s Faerie Queene and Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost
3 Honorable action upstaged by theatrical wordplay in The Faerie Queene and Much Ado About Nothing
4 Courteous competitions: Blood, gold, and outward shows in Nennio, Spenser’s Book of Courtesy, and The Merchant of Venice
5 Literary mirrors of aristocratic performance: Readers and audiences of The Faerie Queene and The Winter’s Tale
Conclusion: Courteous farewells in Spenser and Shakespeare
Index