The Theatrical City Culture, Theatre and Politics in London, 1576–1649

A collection of interdisciplinary essays on the 'theatrical' in Renaissance London.

This collection of essays adopts a novel, interdisciplinary approach to a diverse group of texts composed in London during the Renaissance. Eight literary scholars and eight historians from two continents have been paired to write companion essays on each text. This original method opens up rich insights into London's social, political, and cultural life which would have eluded members of either discipline working in isolation. 'Theatrical' is taken to be a very flexible term, and is applied to the civic rituals and public spectacles of the capital (for example, the execution of King Charles I) as well as to the elite and popular theatre. The eight texts therefore include historical accounts, political documents and polemical works as well as plays.

Preface; List of contributors; List of illustrations; Introduction; 1. John Stow's Survey of London Ian Archer and Lawrence Manley; 2. Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream Penry Williams and Louis A. Montrose; 3. Thomas Dekker's The Shoemaker's Holiday Paul S. Seaver and David Bevington; 4. John Marston's The Fawn Linda Levy Peck and Frank Whigham; 5. Ben Jonson's Bartholomew Fair Patrick Collinson and Leah S. Marcus; 6. Philip Massinger's A New Way to Pay Old Debts Keith Lindley and Martin Butler; 7. The Root and Branch Petition and the Grand Remonstrance David L. Smith and Richard Strier; 8. John Milton's Eikonoklastes Derek Hirst and Marshall Grossman.

This collection of essays adopts a novel, interdisciplinary approach to a diverse group of texts composed in London during the Renaissance. Eight literary scholars and eight historians from two continents have been paired to write companion essays on each text.