Philip Massinger : a critical reassessment

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Philip Massinger : a critical reassessment

edited by Douglas Howard

Cambridge University Press, 1985

Available at  / 28 libraries

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Includes bibliographies and index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

With the exception of the scholarly editions of his plays and a handful of essays on the better-known works, Philip Massinger's dramatic output has received little critical attention in the twentieth century. This collection of critical essays attempts a full reappraisal of the critical position. The essays come from the leading Massinger scholars and are introduced by a brief biography which places the playwright in the context of early Stuart theatre. Important general aspects of Massinger's dramaturgy - his strikingly individual language; attitude to male and female bonding; political views and collaborative work - are discussed, in addition to separate essays on the tragicomedy The Maid of Honour, his best-known tragedy The Roman Actor, and the two comedies A New Way to Pay Old Debts and The City Madam. Four hundred years after his birth this book will show that the hitherto underrated Massinger was the chief dramatist for England's major theatrical company from the death of Fletcher until the closing of the theatres in 1642, and a theatrical poet of major importance.

Table of Contents

  • Introduction Douglas Howard
  • 1. Massinger's Theatrical Language Colin Gibson
  • 2. Massinger's men and women Philip Edwards
  • 3. Massinger as Collaborator: The Plays with Fletcher and Others Cyrus Hoy
  • 4. High Seriousness and Popular Form: The case of The Maid of Honour Russ McDonald
  • 5. Massinger's Political Tradgedies Douglas Howard
  • 6. Romans in Britain: The Roman Actor and the Early Stuart Classical Play Martin Butler
  • 7. Overreach at Bay: Massinger's A New Way to Pay Old Debts Nancy S. Leonard
  • 8. 'The Tongues of Angels': Charity and the Social Order in The City Madam Michael Neill
  • 9. Appendix: The Distinctive Voice of Massinger Anne Barton.

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