The Duchess of Malfi: A critical guide (Continuum Renaissance Drama Guides)

Cover; Half-title; Title; Copyright; Contents; Acknowledgements; Series Introduction; Timeline; Introduction Christina Luckyj; CHAPTER ONE The Critical Backstory David Gunby; CHAPTER TWO The Duchess High and Low: A Performance History of The Duchess of Malfi Roberta Barker; CHAPTER THREE The State of the Art: Critical Approaches 2000-08 Dympna Callaghan; CHAPTER FOUR Staging Secret Interiors: The Duchess of Malfi as Inns of Court and Anticourt Drama Curtis Perry and Melissa Walter; CHAPTER FIVE The Duchess's Marriage in Contemporary Contexts Leah S. Marcus.;John Webster's classic revenge tragedy The Duchess of Malfi was first performed in 1613 and published in 1623. This guide offers students an introduction to its critical and performance history, including recent versions on stage and screen. It includes a keynote chapter outlining major areas of current research on the play and four new critical essays presenting new critical positions that offer divergent perspectives on Webster's religio-political allegiances and the politics and gendering of secrecy in the play. Finally, a guide to critical, web-based and production-related resources and an. This is a comprehensive introduction to "The Duchess of Malfi" that introduces its critical and performance history, the current critical landscape and new directions in research. John Webster's classic revenge tragedy "The Duchess of Malfi" was first performed in 1614 and published in 1623. This guide offers students and scholars an introduction to its critical and performance history, including recent versions on stage and screen. It includes a keynote chapter outlining major areas of current research on the play and four new critical essays presenting new critical positions on the text include gender and political perspectives on the idea of secrecy in the play and debates surrounding Webster's religio-political allegiances. Finally, a guide to critical, web-based and production-related resources and an annotated bibliography provide a basis for further individual research. "Continuum Renaissance Drama" offers practical and accessible introductions to the critical and performative contexts of key Elizabethan and Jacobean plays. Each guide introduces the text's critical and performance history but also provides students with an invaluable insight into the landscape of current scholarly research through a keynote essay on the state of the art and newly commissioned essays of fresh research from different critical perspectives This volume offers John Webster's two great Jacobean tragedies, The White Devil and The Duchess of Malfi, together with his brilliant tragicomedy, The Devil's Law-Case, and the comedy written with William Rowley, A Cure for a Cuckold. Webster is a radically and creatively experimental dramatist. His tragedies deploy shifting dramatic perspectives which counteract and challenge conventional moral judgements, while the predominantly gentler tone of his comedies and tragicomedies responds inventively to contemporary changes in dramatic taste and fashion. All four plays display the provocative intelligence of a profoundly original playwright. Under the General Editorship of Michael Cordner of the University of York, the texts of the plays have been newly edited and are presented with modernized spelling and punctuation. In addition, there is detailed annotation, a glossary, and a critical introduction which traces Webster's artistic development, defends him against charges of over-indulgence in violence, and explores his sophisticated staging and scenic forms
John Webster was a radically and creatively experimental dramatist. This volume offers his two great Jacobean tragedies, The White Devil and The Duchess of Malfi, together with his brilliant tragicomedy, The Devil's Law-Case, and the comedy written with William Rowley, A Cure for a Cuckold. The texts of the plays have been newly edited and are presented with modernized spelling and punctuation.

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Cover Half-title Title Copyright Contents Acknowledgements Series Introduction Timeline Introduction Christina Luckyj CHAPTER ONE The Critical Backstory David Gunby CHAPTER TWO The Duchess High and Low: A Performance History of The Duchess of Malfi Roberta Barker CHAPTER THREE The State of the Art: Critical Approaches 2000-08 Dympna Callaghan CHAPTER FOUR Staging Secret Interiors: The Duchess of Malfi as Inns of Court and Anticourt Drama Curtis Perry and Melissa Walter CHAPTER FIVE The Duchess's Marriage in Contemporary Contexts Leah S. Marcus. CHAPTER SIX 'Can this be certain?': The Duchess of Malfi's Secrets Frances E. DolanCHAPTER SEVEN 'Greek is Turned Turk': Catholic Nostalgia in The Duchess of Malfi Todd Borlik CHAPTER EIGHT A Survey of Resources Christy Desmet Bibliography Notes on Contributors Index. John Webster's classic revenge tragedy The Duchess of Malfi was first performed in 1613 and published in 1623. This guide offers students an introduction to its critical and performance history, including recent versions on stage and screen. It includes a keynote chapter outlining major areas of current research on the play and four new critical essays presenting new critical positions that offer divergent perspectives on Webster's religio-political allegiances and the politics and gendering of secrecy in the play. Finally, a guide to critical, web-based and production-related resources and an annotated bibliography provide a basis for further individual research. The White Devil gives us a compellingly dangerous and fascinating woman who consents to the murder of her ineffectual husband. Her defence against the charge of adultery transforms a lurid tale of crime into high tragedy. Webster's play is a vivid study of sexual and political intrigue, written in incomparable verse and prose. John Russell Brown's new introduction uses the latest developments in the study of Jacobean England and in theatre criticism. Detailed notes and glosses make this an ideal teaching text and a 'must' for any theatre goer.