Renaissance Drama [Paperback]

The Renaissance was a time of unprecedented change in England. Massive intellectual and cultural developments coincided with considerable social instability and political tensions that would lead to the Civil War. While England was in a process of rethinking its structures and values, and subjecting traditional orthodoxy to fresh and incisive scrutiny, the drama of the period was intimately engaged in these processes. This book focuses on the key debates and events of the Renaissance, such as identity, sexuality, social order, religion, state power and colonialism, and provides an introduction to the work of Shakespeare, Marlowe, Jonson, Dekker, Webster, Middleton and Ford.

McRae has written for the helpful Contexts series a clear and concise book on the turbulent times in which English Renaissance drama mirrored and drove the many changes in the cultural matrix.... A highly commendable study.... This is a handy, useful book and deserves to be very successful in the market. Bibliotheque d'Humanisme et Renaissance

Andrew McRae is Senior Lecturer in Renaissance Literature and Culture at the University of Exeter.