Product Description

For Jacobean society, witchcraft was a potent and very real force, an area of sharp controversy in which King James I himself participated and a phenomenon that attracted many dramatists and writers. The three plays in this volume reflect the variety of belief in witches and practice of witchcraft in the Jacobean period. Jacobean understanding of witchcraft is illuminated by the close study of these contrasting texts in relation to each other, and to other contemporary works: "The Masque of Queenes", "Dr Faustus", "Macbeth, and "The Tempest". The introduction and commentaries explore the theatrical potential of plays which, with the exception of "The Witch of Edmonton", have been hitherto lost to the dramatic repertory.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #426495 in Books
• Published on: 1986-10-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 260 pages

Customer Reviews

Three Jacobean triumphs in one book!
The witches we meet in Shakespeare's Macbeth hold nothing like the malevolance and evil as the characters that are encountered in these three Jacobean plays. Neither do these plays hold the renown and fame of Macbeth and yet they deserve too. Each play shows a different aspect of the beliefs of the period and the treatment of women aswell as exploring the changing relationships between men and women in the Jacobean era. All three plays act as a comparison and contrast to each other and challenge our stereotypes of witchcraft and witches which are still held today. But whilst this may all sound terribly serious, the plays although excellent for academic study are also a thrill to read for personal pleasure. The drama, dialogue and depiction in the plays, are as entertaining and engaging in the twenty-first century as they were in the seventeenth. Whatever your reason for coming across this book don't let yourself pass it by!