The Cambridge Companion to Shakespearean Comedy (Cambridge Companions to Literature) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0521779421 ISBN 13: 9780521779425

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2001

Synopsis

First published in 2001, this is an accessible, wide-ranging and informed introduction to Shakespeare's comedies and romances. Rather than taking each play in isolation, the chapters trace recurring issues, suggesting both the continuity and the variety of Shakespeare's practice and the creative use he made of the conventions he inherited. The first section puts Shakespeare in the context of classical and Renaissance comedy and comic theory, the work of his Elizabethan predecessors and the traditions of popular festivity. The second section traces a number of themes through Shakespeare's early and middle comedies, dark comedies and late romances, establishing the key features of his comedy as a whole and illuminating particular plays by close analysis. Individual chapters draw on contemporary politics, rhetoric, and the history of Shakespeare production. Written by experts in the relevant fields, the chapters frequently challenge long-standing critical assumptions.

About this title

Review

'This companion is invaluable to scholars of Shakespeare, early modern drama and theories of comedy. Wide ranging and eclectic in style and its appeal is far-reaching.' Renaissance Journal

Book Description

This is an accessible, wide-ranging and informed introduction to Shakespeare's comedies and romances, first published in 2001. Rather than taking each play in isolation, the chapters trace recurring issues through Shakespeare's early and middle comedies, dark comedies and late romances, suggesting the creative use he made of the conventions he inherited.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0521779421
• ISBN 13: 9780521779425
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256
• Editor: Leggatt Alexander