John A. Alford taught at Michigan State University, the University of California–Irvine, the University of Virginia, Leeds University (U.K.), and elsewhere. His works cover Chaucer to Wordsworth, from medieval rhetoric to modern critical theory. He won awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities (twice) and the Guggenheim Foundation.

• ContentsAbbreviationsIntroduction1.The Mass as Performance TextDolanT. P.2.From Mappa Mundi to Theatrum Mundi: The World as Stage in Early English DramaStevensMartin3.Asleep OnstageBevingtonDavid4.Acting Mary: The Emotional Realism of the Mature Virgin in the N-Town PlaysJohnstonAlexandra F.5.The Performance of Some Wakefield Master Plays on the University of Illinois CampusFriedmanJohn B.6.The Problem with Mrs. Noah: The Search for Performance Credibility in the Chester Noah's Flood PlayMarxWilliam G.7.The Theaters of EverymanMillsDavid8.“My Name is Worship”: Masquerading Vice in Medwall's NatureAlfordJohn A.9.Plays, Players, and Playwrights in Renaissance OxfordElliott, Jr.John R.10.English Chronicle Contexts for Shakespeare's Death of Richard IIMathesonLister M.11.Family by Death: Stage Images in Titus Andronicus and The Winter's TaleRobinsonRandal12.Bearing “A Wary Eye”: Ludic Vengeance and Doubtful Suicide in HamletMcGuirePhilip C.ContributorsIndex