Description
Book SynopsisDavid and Bathsheba presents a modernised edition of George Peele’s explosive biblical drama about the tangled lives, deadly liaisons, and twisted histories of Ancient Israel’s royal family. Martin’s critical edition is the first modern single-volume edition of the play since 1912 and opens up this unduly neglected gem of English Renaissance drama to student and scholar alike. The introduction examines such topics as the play’s treatment of its biblical and poetic sources, its engagement with Elizabethan politics, and its forceful representations of religious fanaticism, genocide, and sexual violence. Its commentary notes clarify the text’s meaning and staging, guide the reader through the play’s dramatisation of the turbulent Davidic period of Ancient Israel’s history, and place the play in its broader cultural and artistic milieu. Martin’s edition aims to encourage new contemporary critical study of Peele’s powerful and disturbing drama.
Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION
George Peele
David and Bathsheba
David in medieval and Renaissance literature and culture
David and Bathsheba, Elizabethan politics, and Marlowe
David and Bathsheba, Queen Elizabeth, and sexual violence
Sources
David and Bathsheba, biblical drama, and performance provenance
The text
Conclusion
DAVID AND BATHSHEBA
INDEX
