Described by Coleridge as having one of the three most perfectly constructed plots in literary history, The Alchemist is a play that is strikingly modern in its cynicism.This guide, with new essays by leading scholars, provides a comprehensive survey of major issues in the contemporary study of the play and points to new avenues for critical exploration.
Throughout the book, chapters explore such issues as:
- The play's critical reception from the Restoration to the 21st century.
- The performance history of the play, from Jonson's own time through...
Described by Coleridge as having one of the three most perfectly constructed plots in literary history, The Alchemist is a play that i...
In this up-to-date critical guide to Christopher Marlowe's absorbing and controversial play, The Jew of Malta, leading Marlowe scholars explore key questions surrounding the text. What are we to make of Barabas, the villainous Jew, who maintains his alienation in a degenerate Christian culture? Can the play be categorized as a darkly cynical tragedy or, conversely, a series of comic book exaggerations meant to be taken as satire; or is it a groundbreaking mix of several perspectives? Are such uncertainties a major reason why has the play has continued to hold so much interest for readers...
In this up-to-date critical guide to Christopher Marlowe's absorbing and controversial play, The Jew of Malta, leading Marlowe scholars explore key...
Twelfth Night is the most mature and fully developed of Shakespeare's comedies and, as well as being one of his most popular plays, represents a crucial moment in the development of his art. Assembled by leading scholars, this guide provides a comprehensive survey of major issues in the contemporary study of the play. Throughout the book chapters explore such issues as the play's critical reception from John Manningham's account of one of its first performances to major current comentators like Stephen Greenblatt; the performance history of the play, from Shakespeare's day to the...
Twelfth Night is the most mature and fully developed of Shakespeare's comedies and, as well as being one of his most popular plays, represen...
ARDEN RENAISSANCE DRAMA GUIDES offer students and academics practical and accessible introductions to the critical and performance contexts of key Elizabethan and Jacobean plays. Essays from leading international scholars provide invaluable insights into the text by presenting a range of critical perspectives, making the books ideal companions for study and research.
Key features include:
Essays on the play's critical and performance history
A keynote essay on current research and thinking about the play
A selection of new essays by leading scholars
A survey...
ARDEN RENAISSANCE DRAMA GUIDES offer students and academics practical and accessible introductions to the critical and performance contexts of key ...
Othello has long been, and remains, one of Shakespeare's most popular works. It is a favourite work of scholars, students, and general readers alike. Perhaps more than any other of Shakespeare's tragedies, this one seems to speak most clearly to contemporary readers and audiences, partly because it deals with such pressing modern issues as race, gender, multiculturalism, and the ways love, jealousy, and misunderstanding can affect relations between romantic partners. The play also features Iago, one of Shakespeare's most mesmerizing and puzzling villains.
This guide offers...
Othello has long been, and remains, one of Shakespeare's most popular works. It is a favourite work of scholars, students, and general reade...
Uniquely, this guide analyses the play's critical and performance history and recent criticism, as well as including five essays offering radically new paths for contemporary interpretation.
The subject matter of these essays is rich and diverse, ranging across the play's philosophical identification of sexual love with self-realization, the hermeneutic implications of an editor's textual choices, the minor characters of the play in relation to Renaissance performance traditions, Romeo and Juliet in opera and ballet, and the play's Italian sources and afterlives.
The...
Uniquely, this guide analyses the play's critical and performance history and recent criticism, as well as including five essays offering radically...
Hamlet remains the most-studied of all Shakespeare's great tragedies. This collection of newly-commissioned essays gives readers an overview of past critical views of the play as well as new writing about the play from today's leading scholars. The range of perspectives offered makes the book an invaluable companion to anyone studying the play at an advanced level. The final chapter on learning and teaching resources is particularly useful as a guide for further study.
Hamlet remains the most-studied of all Shakespeare's great tragedies. This collection of newly-commissioned essays gives readers an overview of...
Hamlet remains the most-studied of all Shakespeare's great tragedies. This collection of newly-commissioned essays gives readers an overview of past critical views of the play as well as new writing about the play from today's leading scholars. The range of perspectives offered makes the book an invaluable companion to anyone studying the play at an advanced level. The final chapter on learning and teaching resources is particularly useful as a guide for further study.
Hamlet remains the most-studied of all Shakespeare's great tragedies. This collection of newly-commissioned essays gives readers an overview of...
Uniquely, this guide analyses the play's critical and performance history and recent criticism, as well as including five essays offering radically new paths for contemporary interpretation.
The subject matter of these essays is rich and diverse, ranging across the play's philosophical identification of sexual love with self-realization, the hermeneutic implications of an editor's textual choices, the minor characters of the play in relation to Renaissance performance traditions, Romeo and Juliet in opera and ballet, and the play's Italian sources and afterlives. ...
Uniquely, this guide analyses the play's critical and performance history and recent criticism, as well as including five essays offering radically ne...
The Spanish Tragedy was the first 'revenge tragedy' on the English Renaissance stage: but for its influence, major dramas including The Revenger's Tragedy, The Duchess of Malfi and even Hamlet would not exist as they do. It is thus a key text for the study of Renaissance drama and normally appears in introductory undergraduate courses on Renaissance drama and Shakespeare. Despite its initial smash-hit status, after the closing of the theatres in 1642 the play was only once performed in Britain before its gradual revival in the 20th century. Following its first...
The Spanish Tragedy was the first 'revenge tragedy' on the English Renaissance stage: but for its influence, major dramas including The Reve...
