"Pageantry in the Shakespearean Theater" focuses on political, social, and aesthetic issues to reveal the enormous influence of civic celebration on Renaissance theater. Ranging across Shakespeare's canon and including the work of his fellow playwrights, this collection of twelve essays considers tournaments, royal entries, Lord Mayor's Shows, funeral processions progress entertainments, court masques, and more.

Shakespeare's London 1613 offers for the first time a comprehensive 'biography' of this crucial year in English history. This book examines political and cultural life in London, including the Jacobean court and the city, which together witnessed an exceptional outpouring of cultural experiences and transformative political events. The royal family had to confront the sudden death of Prince Henry, heir apparent to the throne, which provoked unparalleled grief. An unprecedented number of plays performed at court helped move the country away from sadness to the happy occasion of Princess...