The Arden Guide to Renaissance Drama An Introduction with Primary Sources

This companion to early modern drama equips undergraduate students with the information needed to situate the plays in their socio-political, intellectual and literary contexts. Chapters survey important political, cultural and intellectual events and movements, ranging from the Reformation to emerging nationalism to humanism and to print culture. The book also places at students' disposal some of the key primary documents that constitute the discursive context in which the plays are situated. Finally, it introduces them to the major authors and key dramatic texts of the period and emphasises the importance of both a historicist and close-reading approach to better engage with these works.

Rather than using various texts to cover this ground, this book provides undergraduate and college-level students embarking on an in-depth exploration of early modern drama with one resource, making both critical and contextual information accessible even as it helps make their approach to the literature more insightful and sophisticated.

Part I
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 II
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

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.