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Arden Of Faversham * A Woman Killed With Kindness * The Witch Of Edmonton * The English Traveller In About 1590, An Unknown Dramatist Had The Idea Of Writing A Tragedy About The Lives Of Ordinary People, Instead Of The Genre's Usual Complement Of Kings And Queens And Politicians. His Play, Arden Of Faversham, Inaugurated A New Genre Of 'domestic' Drama, Set In Near-contemporary England And Concerned With Issues Of Marriage, Crime, And Property Rather Than War And Power. Arden Dramatizes A Notorious Murder Case Of Forty Years Earlier, In Which A Wealthy Husband Was Killed By His Wife And Her Lover. In Thomas Heywood's A Woman Killed With Kindness, A Wife Is Caught By Her Husband In Bed With His Best Friend, Only To Find That He Takes Unusual Reprisals. The Witch Of Edmonton Combines A True-life Story Of Witchcraft With A Fictitious Tale Of Bigamy And Wife-murder, And The English Traveller Deals With The Unexpected And Unwelcome Changes People Find When They Return Home After A Lengthy Absence. Part Of The Oxford English Drama Series, This Edition Has Modern-spelling Texts; A Critical Introduction That Outlines The Way All Four Plays Raise Powerful And Complex Questions About The English Society In Which Their Tragic Events Unfold; Wide-ranging Notes; A Chronology Of The Plays From Their Sources To Recent Performance; And Appendices Relating To Two Of The Plays: Who Wrote Arden Of Faversham And When Did Heywood Write The English Traveller. About The Series: For Over 100 Years Oxford World's Classics Has Made Available The Widest Range Of Literature From Around The Globe. Each Affordable Volume Reflects Oxford's Commitment To Scholarship, Providing The Most Accurate Text Plus A Wealth Of Other Valuable Features, Including Expert Introductions By Leading Authorities, Helpful Notes To Clarify The Text, Up-to-date Bibliographies For Further Study, And Much More.
These four plays shift the focus of Elizabethan and Jacobean tragedy from the political machinations of royalty to the volatile conflicts of ordinary domestic life. Each narrative centers on the breakdown of marital trust, the intrusion of criminal intent into the household, and the social consequences of moral transgression. The protagonists navigate rigid societal expectations regarding property, fidelity, and reputation, often finding themselves trapped by their own impulsive actions or the betrayal of those closest to them. The plays utilize the conventions of early modern theater to explore the private tensions that simmer behind the closed doors of the English middle class.
Discussion often centers on the transition of the tragic genre from high-stakes political power struggles to the intimate, often claustrophobic, sphere of the home. Readers frequently highlight how these plays provide a window into the anxieties of the period regarding gender roles and the sanctity of the household. Critics note the effectiveness of the authors in grounding their narratives in recognizable, near-contemporary settings that heighten the impact of the tragic events. The collection is valued for its ability to demonstrate how early modern dramatists utilized the stage to interrogate the moral fabric of their own society. These works remain significant for their influence on the development of realistic drama and their enduring focus on the complexities of human relationships.
Page Count:
400
Publication Date:
2008-01-01
Publisher:
Oup Oxford
ISBN-10:
0191539880
ISBN-13:
9780191539886