The School Of Abuse: Containing A Pleasant Invective Invective Against Poets, Pipers, Players, Jesters &C - Softcover

Stephen Gosson

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0371329310 ISBN 13: 9780371329313

Publisher: HardPress, 2021

Synopsis

The School Of Abuse: Containing A Pleasant Invective Invective Against Poets, Pipers, Players, Jesters &C by Stephen Gosson is a late-16th-century polemical tract in which Gosson denounces poets, musicians, and actors as corrupting influences on virtue and public life. The work, first published in 1579, frames a 'Schoole' of abuses, arguing that literature, theatre, and entertainments foster vanity, lewdness, and social decay. Drawing on classical authorities and Biblical references, Gosson urges magistrates and clergy to regulate or suppress stage performances and fashionable dress. The volume in this edition includes the original tract with introductory material by the Shakespeare Society (1841), plus extensive notes and related writings that contextualize the conflict between stage culture and Puritan critique, such as Heywood’s Apology for Actors. The text stood as a foundational proclamation of opposition to theatrical culture in early modern England, influencing later debates about the theatre’s moral and social role.

Edition details

• Publisher: HardPress
• Publication date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0371329310
• ISBN 13: 9780371329313
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 172