Renaissance Studies / Renaissance Drama

This is the first English-language annotated edition of La reina di Scotia, one of the earliest dramatic works depicting the tragic end of Mary Queen of Scots.

Providing a fresh examination of the relationship between literary and legal communities, Communal Justice in Shakespeare’s England examines the literature of the communal justice in early modern England.

This book probes occluded depictions of queerness in early English drama, ranging from medieval morality plays to Reformation interludes and beyond.

This book explores early modern Spanish plays through the lens of social justice, extending its analysis to contemporary adaptations and how they can be used as a tool for achieving social justice today.

This is the first book to provide a full treatment of Shakespeare’s literary and theatrical engagement with the Italian novella and female agency.

A glimpse into both the celebration of and opposition to social irreverence in the early modern period, Flaunting is a fascinating historical account of drama, fashion, and rebellion with surprisingly close parallels to the contemporary world.

Examining tales of notorious figures in Renaissance England, Laurie Ellinghausen sheds new light on the construction of the early modern renegade and its depiction in English prose, poetry, and drama during a period of capitalist expansion.

In Privacy in the Age of Shakespeare, Ronald Huebert challenges these assumptions by marshalling evidence that it was in Shakespeare’s time that the idea of privacy went from a marginal notion to a desirable quality.

In the first in-depth study of the interconnected relationships among public theatre, custodial institutions, and women in early modern Spain, Margaret E. Boyle explores the contradictory practices of rehabilitation enacted by women both on and off stage.

Breaking new ground in the study of tragedy, early modern theatre, and literary London, Metropolitan Tragedy demonstrates that early modern tragedy emerged from the juncture of radical changes in London’s urban fabric and the city’s judicial procedures.

The Rise of the Diva on the Sixteenth-Century Commedia dell’Arte Stage examines the emergence of the professional actress from the 1560s onwards in Italy.

Taking Exception to the Law explores how a range of early modern English writings responded to injustices perpetrated by legal procedures, discourses, and institutions.

Schmitt demonstrates that the commedia dell’arte relied as much on craftsmanship as on improvisation and that Scala’s scenarios are a treasure trove of social commentary on early modern daily life in Italy.

DiMaria delves into how playwrights not only brought inventive new dramaturgical methods to the genre, but also incorporated significant aspects of the morals and aesthetic preferences familiar to contemporary spectators into their works.

The general theme that emerges from this study is the deeply ambivalent nature of communist Shakespeare who, like Feste's 'chev'ril glove,' often simultaneously served and subverted the official ideology.

With this new understanding of early modern magic, and a fresh context for compelling readings of classic literary works, Magical Imaginations reveals the central importance of magic to English literary history.