Forbidden Matter: Religion in the Drama of Shakespeare and His Contemporaries

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0874137063 ISBN 13: 9780874137064

Publisher: Univ of Delaware Press, 2000

Forbidden Matter examines some half dozen plays, written between the early 1590's and the early 1630's, to demonstrate how they reflect the religious controversies of their time. Religious issues were a topic of intense interest in early modern England, making them ideal for treatment in the theater. Differences among religious beliefs could provide the kinds of conflicts necessary for drama, and with their shock value as well as their topicality, such plays could attract a wide audience. Certainly for contemporary playgoers the works analyzed here were far too controversial to be considered merely light entertainment.