Arthur F. Kinney is Copeland Professor of Literary History at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and Director of the Massachusetts Center for Renaissance Studies. He is the editor of A Companion to Renaissance Drama (Blackwell, 2002) and of the journal English Literary Renaissance. His other recent publications include Lies like Truth: Shakespeare, Macbeth, and the Cultural Moment (2001) and Shakespeare by Stages (Blackwell, 2002).

"This collection contains a wealth of information about the vast and rich domain of Renaissance drama. Always lively, the essays display state-of-the-art scholarship on the plays, the playwrights, the theater, and the culture of Early Modern England. It will be an indispensible scholarly resource for those interested in the entirety of the Renaissance theatrical world, an arena which, as this volume definitively confirms, encompassed a rich array of playmakers and theatrical forms." Jean Howard, Columbia University"Serious first-time readers of Renaissance drama, as well as veteran teachers looking for a credible source of current information, will likely find this substantial volume of great utility." Choice

• List of Illustrations xiNotes on Contributors xiiAcknowledgments xviiiIntroduction: The Dramatic World of the Renaissance 1Arthur F. KinneyPART ONE The Drama’s World 111 The Politics of Renaissance England 13Norman Jones2 Political Thought and the Theater, 1580–1630 25Annabel Patterson3 Religious Persuasions, c.1580–c.1620 40Lori Anne Ferrell4 Social Discourse and the Changing Economy 50Lee Beier5 London and Westminster 68Ian W. Archer6 Vagrancy 83William C. Carroll7 Family and Household 93Martin Ingram8 Travel and Trade 109William H. Sherman9 Everyday Custom and Popular Culture 121Michael Bristol10 Magic and Witchcraft 135Deborah WillisPART TWO The World of Drama 14511 Playhouses 147Herbert Berry12 The Transmission of an English Renaissance Play-Text 163Grace Ioppolo13 Playing Companies and Repertory 180Roslyn L. Knutson14 Must the Devil Appear?: Audiences, Actors, Stage Business 193S. P. Cerasano15 “The Actors are Come Hither”: Traveling Companies 212Peter H. Greenfield16 Jurisdiction of Theater and Censorship 223Richard DuttonPART THREE Kinds of Drama 23717 Medieval and Reformation Roots 239Raphael Falco18 The Academic Drama 257Robert S. Knapp19 “What Revels are in Hand?”: Performances in the Great Households 266Suzanne Westfall20 Progresses and Court Entertainments 281R. Malcolm Smuts21 Civic Drama 294Lawrence Manley22 Boy Companies and Private Theaters 314Michael Shapiro23 Revenge Tragedy 326Eugene D. Hill24 Staging the Malcontent in Early Modern England 336Mark Thornton Burnett25 City Comedy 353John A. Twyning26 Domestic Tragedy: Private Life on the Public Stage 367Lena Cowen Orlin27 Romance and Tragicomedy 384Maurice Hunt28 Gendering the Stage 399Alison Findlay29 Closet DramaMarta Straznicky 416PART FOUR Dramatists 43130 Continental Influences 433Lawrence F. Rhu31 Christopher Marlowe 446Emily C. Bartels32 Ben Jonson 464W. David Kay33 Sidney, Cary, Wroth 482Margaret Ferguson34 Thomas Middleton 507John Jowett35 Beaumont and Fletcher 524Lee Bliss36 Collaboration 540Philip C. McGuire37 John Webster 553Elli Abraham Shellist38 John Ford 567Mario DiGangiIndex 584