Includes bibliographical references and index.

Ch. 1. The paradox of service and freedom -- Ch. 2. The hop and the pole : the limits of materialism -- Ch. 3. "Surprising confrontations" : discourses of service in The taming of the shrew -- Ch. 4. "Monsieur, we are not lettered" : classical influences and the early modern marketplace -- Ch. 5. "Clubs, bills, and partisans" : retainer violence and male bonding -- Ch. 6. Fidelis Servus...: good service and the obligations of obedience -- Ch. 7. ...Perpetuus Asinus : bad service and the primacy of the will -- Ch. 8. "A place in the story" : gender, commodity, alienation, and service -- Ch. 9. "As willing as bondage e'er of freedom" : the vindication of willing service in The tempest.

Electronic reproduction. Palo Alto, Calif. : ebrary, 2011. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ebrary affiliated libraries.