John Webster, Renaissance Dramatist

Renaissance DramatistsSeries Editor: Sean McEvoyAn invaluable resource for all students of Elizabethan and Jacobean theatre, each volume in this series provides an authoritative and up-to-date survey of a major dramatist's work with a focus on the plays in performance.Each guide provides:* An informative account of the writer's entire dramatic output, with an emphasis on those plays most frequently studied at university, college and school* Detailed and relevant contextual information on history, culture, politics and biography* A lucid survey of important recent criticism* Original critical readings of the major playsJohn Webster, Renaissance DramatistDavid ColemanTransgressive and darkly brilliant, the drama of John Webster has long been recognised as one of the crowning glories of the English Renaissance. But this apparently idiosyncratic individual, fascinated by insanity, corruption, and the macabre, was also a successful businessman, involved in trade networks beyond the theatre, and writing most of his plays in apparently amicable collaboration with a host of other dramatists. Such is the enigma of John Webster; caricatured as a pessimist obsessed with morbidity and death, Webster's true significance lies in his ability to perceive that the darkness at the heart of humanity must co-exist with the routine and the social interaction of everyday life. John Webster, Renaissance Dramatist locates Webster's remarkable plays within the context of the culture from which they sprang. Examining the uncertain political, religious, and economic climate of Jacobean London, this book offers a guide to one of the most distinctive, yet most elusive, voices of Renaissance England. Introducing readers to both the great tragedies, The Duchess of Malfi and The White Devil, and the lesser-known works, this book explains why Webster has fascinated and horrified generations of critics and theatregoers, and argues that the relevance and resonance of Webster's drama continues to grow.David Coleman is Lecturer in Early Modern Literature at Nottingham Trent University.Coleman, David is the author of 'John Webster, Renaissance Dramatist', published 2010 under ISBN 9780748634651 and ISBN 0748634657.