The Arden Guide to Renaissance Drama

It equips students with the information needed to situate the plays in their socio-political, intellectual and literary contexts

Divided into two parts, it introduces students to the major authors and significant dramatic texts of the period and emphasises the importance of both a historicist and close-reading approach to better engage with these works

The Guide offers:

· primary texts from key early modern scholars such as Machiavelli, Heywood and Sidney

· contextual information vital to a full understanding of the drama of the period

· close readings of 14 of the most widely studied play texts by Shakespeare and his contemporaries

· a single resource to accompany any study of early modern drama

This is an ideal companion for students of Renaissance drama, offering students and teachers a range of primary contextual sources to illuminate their understanding alongside close critical readings of the major plays of the period

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART ONE

1. Politics and Society
2. Men and Women
3. Travel and Trade
4. Humanism
5. The Stage
6. Authors, Books and Readers
7. Genre
8. Language and Style

PART TWO

The Alchemist
Arden of Faversham
Doctor Faustus
The Duchess of Malfi
Hamlet
Henry V
The Jew of Malta
The Knight of the Burning Pestle
The Roaring Girl
The Shoemaker's Holiday
The Spanish Tragedy
The Tempest
The Tragedy of Mariam
Volpone

Appendices

Index