Product Description

In this comprehensive Companion over fifty of the very best of modern 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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #274548 in Books
• Published on: 2002-12-05
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 792 pages

Choice
"The 60 original essays in this volume (by 51 established scholars) provide a remarkably comprehensive overview of current understanding of the literature and culture of the English Renaissance. The discussions are uniformly balanced, accessible, and insightful. The target audience of upper-division undergraduates and graduate students will be very well served by this anthology, and because of its breadth and new readings, faculty will find rewards as well. Highly recommended."

Times Higher Education Supplement
The volume's awesome range makes it a valuable preserve for scholars and an ambitious reference for students.

Reference Reviews
This impressive tome must certainly be the last word on English Renaissance literature and culture, at least for some considerable time to come.

Customer Reviews

This is an outstanding collection of essays.
Michael Hattaway has edited a fascinating book which will be a must for any serious scholar of this period. By his selection of essayists and topics he explores the notion of a renaissance and in the various chapters are offered provocative arguments for a re-naming of the period as an English reformation. Essays have been contributed by Patrick Collinson,Richard Harries,Germaine Greer,Robyn Bolam,Arthur Kinney and many more of the best modern scholars. Blackwells have published a beautiful book with seventeen pages of plates, some rarely seen before. This large work should be on the shelves of every English Literature department both here and abroad.