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
times
- Shows 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 Renaissance
- Reflects the latest scholarship of early modern theatre history
(especially London theatres), the history of performance and acting
and the print history of stage plays
- Inspects the sub-genres associated with the form, such as revenge
tragedy, historical tragedy, domestic tragedy, tragicomedy and closet
drama
