The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare and Contemporary Dramatists

Description

While Shakespeare's popularity has continued to grow, so has the attention paid to the work of his contemporaries. The contributors to this Companion introduce the distinctive drama of these playwrights, from the court comedies of John Lyly to the works of Richard Brome in the Caroline era. With chapters on a wide range of familiar and lesser-known dramatists, including Thomas Kyd, Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson, John Webster, Thomas Middleton and John Ford, this book devotes particular attention to their personal and professional relationships, occupational rivalries and collaborations. Overturning the popular misconception that Shakespeare wrote in isolation, it offers a new perspective on the most impressive body of drama in the history of the English stage.

Ton Hoenselaars is Professor of Early Modern English Literature and Culture at Utrecht University, where he teaches Renaissance drama in its historical contexts and in later adaptations both in Britain and abroad. His research concentrates on early modern English literature (with a special focus on Shakespeare) and its international relations. He has published widely on images of nations in Renaissance literature, literature in translation and on Shakespeare in European culture from 1600 to the present day. He is the author of Images of Englishmen and Foreigners in the Drama of Shakespeare and his Contemporaries (1992), and co-editor of a number of collections, including Shakespeare's Italy (1993), The Italian World of English Renaissance Drama (1998), The Author as Character (1999), 400 Years of Shakespeare in Europe (2003), Shakespeare and the Language of Translation (2004), Shakespeare's History Plays (2004) and Challenging Humanism (2005).

'... a fine primer for the Shakespearean era.' Reference Reviews '... will prove useful for both undergraduates and graduate teaching. The volume is framed by a convenient chronology and a thoughtfully prepared bibliography that guide readers both back to formative early publications and forward to a solid selection of more recent work.' Shakespeare Quarterly 'A well-informed and variously interesting survey on the Elizabethan theatre.' Daniela Guardamagna, Memori Di Shakespeare 'The Companion's achievement is twofold: it introduces the reader to a variety of dramatists contemporary with Shakespeare but much less often studied, and it disproves the idea, prevalent for centuries, of Shakespeare as an isolated genius who worked on his own. In the days before copyright, Shakespeare and his colleagues frequently had a finger in one another's plays, to an extent that renders attribution a far more complicated question than it is generally considered. This realisation is a key to understanding early modern drama, and this book conveys it with efficiency and panache.' Mette Sjoelin, English Studies