Four Revenge Tragedies: The Spanish Tragedy, The Revenger's Tragedy, 'Tis Pity She's A Whore and The White Devil (New Mermaids) - Softcover

Kyd, Thomas; Ford, John; Webster, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1408159600 ISBN 13: 9781408159606

Publisher: Methuen Drama, 2014

Synopsis

Francis Bacon described revenge as a 'kind of wild justice'. Then as now, early modern playwrights and their theatre-going public were fascinated by the anarchic energies that a desire for retribution unleashes. Rather than rehearsing familiar conventions, each of these plays presents a unique social and cultural milieu where dark fantasies of revenge are variously played out.

In Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy a grieving father seeks public justice for the murder of his son by envious princelings. When his attempts are thwarted he turns a court spectacle of murder into the 'real' thing. Blackly comic in its tone and style, The Revenger's Tragedy (anon.) presents vengeance as mimetic art, witty and cruel. Ford's 'Tis Pity She's a Whore represents an innovative re-working of the genre as a brother's love for his sister leads to his spectacular revenge on his rival, her husband, in a society in which brutal retaliation for perceived wrong is the norm. In Webster's The White Devil crimes of passion ignite revenge in the courts of the Italian city states.

This student edition contains fully annotated, modernized texts of each play together with an introduction discussing the dramatic and poetic style of each play, focusing on its action and play of ideas.

About this title

Book Description:

A collection of the four major tragedies from the early modern period ideal for students, with on page commentary notes to deepen understanding and a comprehensive introduction giving valuable contextual and critical information.

About the Author:

Janet Clare is Professor of Renaissance Literature and Director of the Andrew Marvell Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Studies at the University of Hull, UK.

Play texts edited by: Andrew Gurr (The Spanish Tragedy), Brian Gibbons (The Revenger's Tragedy), Martin Wiggins ('Tis Pity She's a Whore), Christina Luckyj (The White Devil).

About this edition

• Publisher: Methuen Drama
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1408159600
• ISBN 13: 9781408159606
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 600
• Editor: Clare Janet