English Renaissance Tragedy

249 Pages·2015·0.85 MB·English

by  Peter Holbrook

English
Renaissance
Tragedy: Ideas
of Freedom
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English
Renaissance
Tragedy
Ideas of Freedom
Peter Holbrook
Bloomsbury Arden Shakespeare
An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Bloomsbury Arden Shakespeare
An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Imprint previously known as Arden Shakespeare
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BLOOMSBURY, THE ARDEN SHAKESPEARE and the Diana logo are
trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
First published 2015
© Peter Holbrook, 2015
Peter Holbrook has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval
system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers.
No responsibility for loss caused to any individual or organization acting on
or refraining from action as a result of the material in this publication can
be accepted by Bloomsbury or the author.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: HB: 978-1-4725-7281-3
PB: 978-1-4725-7280-6
ePDF: 978-1-4725-7283-7
ePub: 978-1-4725-7282-0
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
Series: Shakespeare and Theory, 1234567X, volume 2
Typeset by Fakenham Prepress Solutions, Fakenham, Norfolk NR21 8NN
For Annie, William, and Eloise

CONTENTS
Acknowledgements ix
Preface x
Chronology of Authors and Works xii
Note on the Texts xiv
Part One: Tragedy and Freedom 1
Introduction 3
1 The Tragic Genre 7
2 Tragedy: Freedom, Order and Tyranny 15
3 Freedom, Tyranny and Order in the English
Renaissance 39
4 The Rhetoric of Disenchantment 55
5 Going to the Theatre in Shakespeare’s
London 75
Part Two: Pursuing Freedom in English
Renaissance Tragedy 93
viii Contents
6 Gorboduc 95
7 Tamburlaine, Parts One and Two 99
8 Doctor Faustus 107
9 The Jew of Malta 113
10 Edward II 121
11 Arden of Faversham 133
12 Hamlet 137
13 Othello 143
14 King Lear 151
15 Antony and Cleopatra 161
16 The Revenger’s Tragedy 169
17 The White Devil 175
18 The Duchess of Malfi 179
19 The Changeling 189
20 ’Tis Pity She’s a Whore 193
Conclusion 199
Notes 209
Bibliography 225
Index 231
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Heartfelt thanks to Margaret Bartley at Bloomsbury for her
assistance and encouragement, and, above all, patience during
the writing of this book. Xanthe Ashburner, my postgraduate
student at the University of Queensland, read the manuscript
closely, saving me from many errors and suggesting numerous
improvements. Thanks also to Richard Newman, for help
with proofs, and to Chris Tiffin, who prepared the Index.
Finally, I acknowledge the support of the Australian Research
Council in providing me with the necessary time to concen-
trate on writing.