The Arden Guide to Renaissance Drama - by Brinda Charry (Paperback)

About the Book

"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"--

Book Synopsis

The Arden Guide to Renaissance Drama is a single critical and contextual resource for students embarking on an in-depth exploration of early modern drama, providing both critical insight and accessible contextual information. This companion equips students with the information needed to situate the plays in their socio-political, intellectual and literary contexts. Divided into two parts, it introduces students to the major authors and significant dramatic texts of the period and emphasises the importance of both a historicist and close-reading approach to better engage with these works.
The Guide offers:
- primary texts from key early modern scholars such as Machiavelli, Heywood and Sidney
- contextual information vital to a full understanding of the drama of the period
- close readings of 14 of the most widely studied play texts by Shakespeare and his contemporaries
- a single resource to accompany any study of early modern drama
This is an ideal companion for students of Renaissance drama, offering students and teachers a range of primary contextual sources to illuminate their understanding alongside close critical readings of the major plays of the period.

About the Author

Brinda Charry is Professor of English at Keene State College, New Hampshire, USA.