Reprints and Revivals of Renaissance Drama

Challenges widespread views on the primacy of first editions and performances to explore Renaissance drama's rich repetitions and renewals.

Studies of early modern drama in print and performance have often prioritized – or even fetishized – first editions and first performances. Challenging ingrained assumptions about chronology, this collection urges us to refocus critical attention towards the various ways that Renaissance drama was repeated and renewed.Studies of early modern English drama in print and performance have often prioritized – or even fetishized – first editions and first performances. Challenging ingrained assumptions about chronology, this collection focuses critical attention on the various ways that Renaissance drama was repeated and renewed. Ranging widely across the period, from the 1580s to the early 1700s, the chapters examine canonical plays and authors-including Shakespeare and Ben Jonson-outside of the contexts in which they are ordinarily viewed. The chapters also demonstrates the significance of texts, authors, and forms of evidence that have been critically neglected, from lost plays and music manuscripts to playgoers' diaries and multi-author 'nonce' anthologies. As a whole, the collection opens up new areas of study and offers fresh perspectives on questions of temporality, commerce, aesthetics, agency, and canon-formation.