Tragedies of the English Renaissance
An Introduction
Published on 6. March 2018
Book
Paperback/Softback
240 pages
978-1-4744-1956-7 (ISBN)
Description
Explores popular Renaissance tragedies through a chronological commentary of political, social, cultural and aesthetic factors
This book covers the development of tragedy as a dramatic genre from its earliest examples in the 1560's until the closure of the theatres in 1642. It traces the astonishingly diverse range of tragedies as they were influenced by the growth of public and private theatre venues in London. Tragedy was the most popular and the most diverse of theatrical genres during the English Renaissance; it was also the most disruptive and subversive. For Shakespeare and his contemporaries, tragedy reaches kings and queens and everyday person alike. Tragedy has rules, but these were rules that playwrights were ready to trouble and transform to meet changes in society and politics, in theatre venue, and in audience demand.
Key Features
Plays and their authors are discussed alongside each other against the background of the socio-cultural and political conditions of their timesShows the degree to which theatre history can be connected with other significant contextual factors and critical ideas in analysis of the tragedies of the English RenaissanceReflects the latest scholarship of early modern theatre history (especially London theatres), the history of performance and acting and the print history of stage playsInspects the sub-genres associated with the form, such as revenge tragedy, historical tragedy, domestic tragedy, tragicomedy and closet drama
This book covers the development of tragedy as a dramatic genre from its earliest examples in the 1560's until the closure of the theatres in 1642. It traces the astonishingly diverse range of tragedies as they were influenced by the growth of public and private theatre venues in London. Tragedy was the most popular and the most diverse of theatrical genres during the English Renaissance; it was also the most disruptive and subversive. For Shakespeare and his contemporaries, tragedy reaches kings and queens and everyday person alike. Tragedy has rules, but these were rules that playwrights were ready to trouble and transform to meet changes in society and politics, in theatre venue, and in audience demand.
Key Features
Plays and their authors are discussed alongside each other against the background of the socio-cultural and political conditions of their timesShows the degree to which theatre history can be connected with other significant contextual factors and critical ideas in analysis of the tragedies of the English RenaissanceReflects the latest scholarship of early modern theatre history (especially London theatres), the history of performance and acting and the print history of stage playsInspects the sub-genres associated with the form, such as revenge tragedy, historical tragedy, domestic tragedy, tragicomedy and closet drama
Reviews / Votes
Stanivukovic and Cameron's history of tragedy in early modern London playing spaces offers an admirably clear introduction to a complex genre. It is particularly good on the relation of tragedy to the religious uncertainty of the period. Sound, scholarly, and detailed, this is a book that will be invaluable to students. * Lisa Hopkins, Sheffield Hallam University * I highly recommend all students of this genre and period to begin by reading this book. -- Anna Faktorovich * Pennsylvania Literary Journal (2019) *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 211 mm
Width: 137 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
272 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4744-1956-7 (9781474419567)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Goran Stanivukovic is Professor of Early Modern English Literature and Chair of Department of English Language and Literature at Saint Mary's University, Halifax, Canada. His most recent publications include, as author, Knights in Arms: Prose Romance, Masculinity, and Eastern Mediterranean Trade in Early Modern England, 1565-1655 (University of Toronto Press, 2016); as editor, Queer Shakespeare: Desire and Sexuality (Bloomsbury, 2017) and Timely Voices: Romance Writing in English Literature (McGill-Queen's University Press, 2017). John H. Cameron teaches English Literature at Saint Mary's University, Halifax. His primary research and teaching interests are early modern English drama. His most recent publications include book chapters on Spenser's The Faerie Queene and Robert Louis Stevenson, as well as encyclopedia entries on Mario Vargas Llosa and on Julio Cortaar. He is currently preparing two monographs, one a history of Shakespeare's reception in France and the other a critical history of Hamlet.
Content
Note on citation
Chronology i
Introduction 1
1 The Emergence of Elizabethan Tragedy and the London Stage 40
2 Late Elizabethan Tragedy 86
3 Early Jacobean Tragedy 133
4 Late Jacobean Tragedy 160
5 Caroline Tragedy 197
Bibliography 230
Chronology i
Introduction 1
1 The Emergence of Elizabethan Tragedy and the London Stage 40
2 Late Elizabethan Tragedy 86
3 Early Jacobean Tragedy 133
4 Late Jacobean Tragedy 160
5 Caroline Tragedy 197
Bibliography 230