Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 2003. - 788 p.
In this comprehensive Companion over fifty of the very best of
mode scholars - including Patrick Collinson, Germaine Greer,
Richard Harries, Arthur Kinney, Andrew Hadfield , Jean Howard, and
Judith Anderson - come together to offer an original and
far-reaching survey of English Renaissance literature and culture.
The first part of the volume considers pertinent issues such as
humanism, English reformations, the development of the language,
court culture, and playhouses, in terms of the way in which these
aspects of Renaissance culture influenced literary production.
There are provocative essays on canonical genres such as love
poetry and Jacobean tragedy , but also accounts of popular and
occasional drama and verse, and on the visual arts. The Companion
also approaches key texts of the period through a number of new
readings by eminent scholars in the field providing original
perspectives and positions on both canonical and non-canonical
texts. The essays include a range of approaches to a variety of
texts from 'The Spanish Tragedy' and 'The Faerie Queen' to ''Tis
Pity She's a Whore', the poems of Lady Mary Wroth, and a selection
of critical elegies. In the final section, the book moves on to
explore contemporary debates in Renaissance studies such as
feminism, sexuality, historicism, and nation. This Companion is the
only book of its kind to travel beyond the stage and is an
invaluable guide for both student and teacher.