Fall 2013

ENG 603: Early Modern Drama

Jo Miller

In the wildly popular London theatre scene from the late 1580's through Elizabeth's death and James I's ascension to the throne in 1603, and well into the 17th Century, Shakespeare was only one playwright among many. In this course, we will read several of the best plays of Shakespeare's contemporaries, including those of his most important rivals and successors, Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson, John Webster, Thomas Middleton, and Thomas Dekker. Thomas Kyd, Robert Greene, Masters Beaumont and Fletcher and the rest of this company will entertain and enlighten us as we explore the immensely varied and richly textured world of the early modern theatre.