Description
Book SynopsisThe book considers the London theatrical culture which took shape in the 1570s and came to an end in 1642.
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- Places emphasis on those plays that are readily available in modern editions and can sometimes to be seen in modern productions, including Shakespeare.
- Provides students with the historical, literary and theatrical contexts they need to make sense of Renaissance drama.
- Includes a series of short biographies of playwrights during this period.
- Features close analyses of more than 20 plays, each of which draws attention to what makes a particular play interesting and identifies relevant critical questions.
- Examines early modern drama in terms of its characteristic actions, such as cuckolding, flattering, swaggering, going mad, and rising from the dead.
Trade Review"...Womack offers insightful critical comments on English Renaissance playwrights, some major plays, and a variety of contextual topics...Womack is an astute critic."
CHOICE
"Remarkably comprehensive … a very fine introduction for the non-specialist."
Touchstone
Table of ContentsIntroduction.
Timeline.
The Set-Up.
The Moment.
Irreligious Drama.
Courtiers and Capitalists.
Actors and Writers.
The Stage.
Background Voices.
Allegory.
Ceremony.
Drama.
Festivity.
History.
Love.
Medicine.
Rhetoric.
Romance.
Satire.
The Writers.
Francis Beaumont (1584/5–1616).
Richard Brome (c. 1590–1652).
George Chapman (1559–1634).
Thomas Dekker (c. 1572–1632).
John Fletcher (1579–1625).
John Ford (1586–?1650).
Robert Greene (1558–1592).
Thomas Heywood (c. 1573–1641).
Ben Jonson (1572–1637).
Thomas Kyd (1558–1594).
Christopher Marlowe (1564–1593).
John Marston (1576–1634).
Philip Massinger (1583–1640).
Thomas Middleton (1580–1627).
Anthony Munday (1560–1633).
George Peele (1556–1596).
William Rowley (d. 1626).
William Shakespeare (1564–1616).
James Shirley (1596–1666).
Cyril Tourneur (d. 1626).
John Webster (c. 1579–c. 1630).
Key Plays.
Thomas Kyd, The Spanish Tragedy.
Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great.
Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus.
William Shakespeare, Richard II .
Ben Jonson, Every Man In His Humour .
Thomas Dekker, The Shoemakers’ Holiday .
William Shakespeare, Hamlet.
John Marston, The Dutch Courtesan.
William Shakespeare, King Lear.
The Revenger’s Tragedy .
Ben Jonson, Volpone, or, The Fox .
Francis Beaumont, The Knight of the Burning Pestle.
Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, The Maid’s Tragedy.
Thomas Dekker and Thomas Middleton, The Roaring Girl.
William Shakespeare, The Tempest .
Thomas Middleton, A Chaste Maid in Cheapside.
Ben Jonson, Bartholomew Fair.
John Webster, The Duchess of Malfi.
Thomas Middleton and William Rowley, The Changeling.
Philip Massinger, The Roman Actor .
Thomas Heywood, The Fair Maid of the West.
John Ford, ’Tis Pity She’s a Whore.
Richard Brome, A Jovial Crew.
Actions That A Man Might Play.
Attending.
Being a Woman.
Conjuring.
Cuckolding.
Dressing Up.
Feigning.
Flattering.
Going Mad.
Inheriting.
Plotting.
Rising from the Dead.
Seducing.
Swaggering.
Bibliography.
Index
