"Between Theater and Philosophy studies the aggressive, restless, and critical skepticism of the major city comedies of early modern English dramatists Ben Jonson and Thomas Middleton. The book places the city comedies in the context of the battle between theater and philosophy declared by Plato's expulsion of theater from his ideal republic."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

A comprehensive companion to 'The Collected Works of Thomas Middleton', providing detailed introductions to and full editorial apparatus for the works themselves as well as a wealth of information about Middleton's historical and literary context.

Thomas Middleton is one of the major English Renaissance dramatists alongside Marlowe, Shakespeare and Jonson. Middleton continues to fascinate audiences and readers with his black humour, his wry and witty treatment of sexuality, morality, and politics. He is a consummate professional dramatist, experimenting with stagecraft in a manner that combines the visual and the verbal to startling effect. This book brings together these aspects of Middleton's craft through a detailed study of his major plays. Middleton experimented with, and helped to shape, a range of dramatic genres: city comedy, tragicomedy, romance, and revenge tragedy. This new guide analyses in detail how the plays work in terms of the early modern theatre and dramatic genres, as well as elucidating the broader cultural issues shaping the plays. It provides an introduction to critical readings of Middleton's works as well as modern performances, demonstrating how modern critics, producers, dramatists and film makers see Middleton's dark, playful and challenging plays as speaking to our times.Key Features*Ideal student guide with its wide ranging introduction to Middleton's city comedies, tragedies, and collaborative plays and its readings of key texts such as The Roaring Girl, Chaste Maid in Cheapside, Revenger's Tragedy, Women Beware Women, and The Changeling*Uses the most recent edition available, the Oxford Middleton (2007)*Provides background contexts guiding readers through criticism of the plays as well as recent work on early modern theatre and culture*Emphasis on Middleton's stagecraft and its assessment of modern adaptations and film versions of his plays

Provides image and full-text online access to back issues. Consult the online table of contents for specific holdings.

"Panitent Brothellers focuses on the recurring incidents of repentance and conversion in Thomas Middleton's major comedies. Panitent Brothel's conversion in a Mad World, My Masters and Sir Walter Whorehound's repentance in A Chaste Maid in Cheapside are familiar examples of behavior that, while having precedents with St. Augustine and St. Paul, had been newly described by Luther and Calvin." "This study emphasizes close readings of Middleton's city comedies to reveal the importance of repentance and conversion in his theology."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

A fresh approach to Thomas Middleton's career that focuses attention on his relations with Dekker, Shakespeare, and Rowley.

The first decade of the Jacobean age witnessed a sudden profusion of comedies satirizing city life; among these were comedies by Ben Jonson, John Marston and Thomas Middleton, as well as the bulk of the repertory of the newly-established children’s companies at Blackfriars and Paul’s. The playwrights self-consciously forged a new genre which attracted London audiences with its images of folly and vice in Court and City, and hack-writing dramatists were prompt to cash in on a new theatrical fashion. This study, first published in 1980, examines ways in which the Jacobean city comedy reflect on the self-consciousness of audiences and the concern of the dramatists with Jacobean society. This title will be of interest of students of Renaissance Drama, English Literature and Performance.