Product Description

Like Shakespeare's Juliet, Annabella, accompanied by her down-to-earth nurse, is introduced to a series of suitors to her hand. Like Juliet, she finds all of them unsatisfactory - and rightly so, for the audience know that the nastiest of them is having an affair with her domineering aunt. Like Juliet, Annabella is wooed by a sensitive and passionate young man whose love she returns - but this young man happens to be her own brother, Giovanni. When they consummate their love and she, to avoid the scandal of extramarital pregnancy, agrees to marry her aunt's lover, the tragic outcome is inevitable. John Ford, writing his psychologically powerful and intellectually challenging tragedies in the early years of King Charles I's reign, is a playwright of the first rank, as 20th-century directors have shown both in the theatre and on film.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #56660 in Books
• Published on: 2003-08-29
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 174 pages

About the Author
Martin Wiggins is a Fellow of the Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham.

Customer Reviews

A Great Play - but I wouldn't choose this edition again...
'Tis Pity She's a Whore is a play which centres around the incestuous love of its to protagonists - Giovanni and Anabella, brother and sister. The controversy of its topic have been much discussed since it was first performed in the 17th century, with different critics and different audiences taking to it very differently.

I thoroughly enjoyed my read - it is fast moving and has a wide range of characters with a variety of sub plots. I particularly enjoyed the adulterous Hippolita, and her lover Soranzo's servant Vasquez. Indeed, the depth and time given to the supporting cast in some ways brings into doubt which are the main characters in the play. However, the story revolves around Giovanni and Anabella and their love affair. It calls into question religion, society, and of course the taboo itself (although it is doubtful that John Ford was condoning the incestuous relationship, neither are Giovanni and Anabella presented in an unsympathetic light). As a spectacle, there are doubtlessly a wide range of ways to stage the play. I found the language easier than the majority of Shakespeare, and although the plot in parts bares similarity to Shakespeare and perhaps Johnson, I will be looking out for a production. The brutality and intrigue of the play would, I am sure, make for interesting viewing.

This edition I have mixed feelings about. The introduction is good enough - it is easy to read, and gives an overview of themes and past stagings of the production, as well as a good selection of possible extra reading. However the commentary to accompany the text was too sparse for me - although it gives definitions of most of the words you could not find in a dictionary, it gives little context or explanation, and at no point links in with the issues discussed in the commentary.

I must admit I am a fan of the Arden editions of Shakespeare, and because of that have grown used to in-depth explanations, context, wordplay and connotations being noted and brought to my attention throughout the text; this does not happen here. In this way, this Revels Student Edition falls down - perhaps this is because it is expected that for students class work would cover the text in detail.

Jacobean at its Best
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this play, my first foray into Jacobean literature. Revenge, incest, etc. this play has everything to keep you hooked. I don't as a rule read many plays (Shakespeare excepted) but I thoroughly enjoyed it, now I want to see it on stage it was so good.

A brilliant play
This a a brilliant and unique play which deals with a theme which many playwrights would not. It is a classic story of revenge, betrayal and love with disastrous consequences. Although it deals with the difficult theme of incest it does so in a way that by the end you do not find it as shocking as you may expect. In fact there are other much worst happenings within the plot which include murder and corruption in many different forms.
This is really a text which you need to use your own interpretation to understand. The characters are written in such a way that they can be viewed from many angles: both good and bad. It is really a personal choice whose sides you take within the play but it is certainly one that will get you thinking.
'Tis Pity She's A Whore' is a play very typical and representative of the time in which it was written. The women of the play seem to be the main victims whereas the men can easily display some truly terrible behaviour without a second thought. It is a very clear depiction of society and the social hierarchy within the seventeenth century and in my opinion is well worth a read.
I read this as an a/s level text and am so glad I did as I have now discovered the brilliant talent of John Ford. I will definitely be going on to read more of his work. Pick up this book- you won't regret it.