James Shirley was the last great dramatist of the English Renaissance, shining out among other luminaries such as John Ford, Ben Jonson, or Richard Brome. This collection considers Shirley within the culture of his time and highlights his contribution to seventeenth-century English literature as poet and playwright. Individual essays explore Shirley's musical theatre and spoken verse, performance conditions, female agency and politics, and the presentation of his work in manuscript and print.

Contents

Introduction

Barbara Ravelhofer

Time for James Shirley

Jeremy Lopez

The Comic and the Apocalyptic in Shirley's Drama

Rebecca Hasler

'And you meane to rise at court, practise to caper':

The Representation of the Court in James Shirley's Plays, 1631-36

Peter Happé

Rebellion in Arcadia: Caroline Anti-Militarism in Dramatic Adaptations of Sidney

Rachel Ellen Clark

A Conflict More Fierce than Many Thousand Battles: Staging the Politics of Treason and Allegiance in James Shirley's Maritime Plays, The Young Admiral and The Court Secret

Rebecca Bailey

Shirley's Tragedies

Barbara Ravelhofer

Shirley's Dublin Days: A Nervous Première of St. Patrick for Ireland

Robert Lublin

Papers Most Foul: The Melbourne Manuscript and the 'Foul Papers' Debate

Dan Starza Smith

Plotting Paratexts in Shirley's The Politician

Jitka stollová

The Drama of Shirley's Poems

Philip West

Music in the Work of James Shirley

Andrew Ashbee

Versification from Shakespeare to Shirley: Implications for Performance

Marina Tarlinskaja

Bibliography

Barbara Ravelhofer is Professor of English Literature at Durham University and a general editor on The Oxford Complete Works of James Shirley. Her publications include The Early Stuart Masque: Dance, Costume, and Music (2006).