English Drama: Shakespeare to the Restoration, 1590-1660 (Longman Literature in English Series)

The most important period in the history of English drama is revealed in Alexander Leggatt's challenging account. The author considers English drama from the beginning of Shakespeare's career to the restoration of Charles II. Focusing on Shakespeare and the development of his art, he examines all his major contemporaries: Jonson, Middleton, Webster, Beaumont, Fletcher and Ford. He combines close analysis of specific plays with a broader look at trends within drama. This book considers English drama from the beginning of Shakespeare's career to the restoration of Charles II. The plays are considered against the history and culture of their time, as reactions to a crisis of confidence in early 17th c. English society. Focusing on Shakespeare and the development of his art from its origins as a reaction to Elizabethan drama to the more experimental work of his later years, Professor Leggatt examines all his major contemporaries - Jonson, Middleton, Webster, Beaumont, Fletcher and Ford - combining close analysis of specific plays with a broader look at trends within drama. A fresh view of familiar is provided and often neglected areas of popular and late Jacobean and Caroline drama are discussed. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Editors' Preface Longman Literature in English Series Acknowledgements Dedication 1. Introduction Part One: Shakespeare 2. Early Plays 3. History and Comedy 4. Tragedy 5. Later Comedies Part Two: Early Jacobean Drama 6. The Early Jacobeans 7. Jonson 8. Middleton 9. Webster 10. Popular Drama Part Three: Later Jacobean and Caroline Drama 11. Fletcher and Company 12. Middleton, Rowley and Company 13. Ford 14. Caroline Drama Epilogue Chronology General Bibliographies (i) Historical and cultural background (ii) Theatres, actors and audiences (iii) General criticism Individual Authors Notes on biography, major works and criticism Index Alexander Leggatt. Includes Index. Bibliography: P. [281]-294.