Renaissance writers
Uncover the fascinating, colourful lives of Renaissance writers including John Donne, Ben Jonson and Christopher Marlowe, and explore key features and themes in their groundbreaking plays and poetry.
Christopher Marlowe: The man, the myth and the mighty line
- Article by:
- Andrew Dickson
Andrew Dickson looks at the infamous mysteries and controversies surrounding Christopher Marlowe's life, and celebrates the ambition, daring and skill of his work.
- Theme:
- Renaissance writers
‘Make me new’: the multiple reinventions of John Donne
- Article by:
- Andrew Dickson
John Donne's work includes passionate and explicit love poems and intense religious meditations. Andrew Dickson explores the poet's many identities, from Catholic child to Protestant adult, from womaniser to devoted husband, and from trainee lawyer, secretary and Member of Parliament to Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral.
- Themes:
- Renaissance writers, Poetry
‘O Rare Ben Jonson!’
- Article by:
- Andrew Dickson
Ben Jonson went from a classically educated schoolboy to an apprentice bricklayer and solider, before becoming one of the 17th-century's most eminent playwrights and poets. Andrew Dickson recounts Jonson's eventful life, and how his success was often marred by a difficult relationship with alcohol, with fellow playwrights and actors, and with theatre itself.
- Theme:
- Renaissance writers
An introduction to Doctor Faustus: morality and sin
- Article by:
- Eric Rasmussen, Ian DeJong
Eric Rasmussen and Ian DeJong explore the ambiguities and dualities of Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus.
- Themes:
- Power, politics and religion, Renaissance writers, Magic, illusion and the supernatural, Tragedies
An introduction to Edward II
- Article by:
- Martin Wiggins
The complex portrayal of Edward II’s love for his male favourite Gaveston has fascinated audiences for centuries. Here Martin Wiggins discusses the play’s depiction of same-sex love, homophobia, power and tragedy.
- Themes:
- Power, politics and religion, Renaissance writers, Histories, Gender, sexuality, courtship and marriage
A close reading of 'The Flea'
- Article by:
- Aviva Dautch
The suitor in 'The Flea' enviously describes the creature that ‘sucks’ on his mistress’s skin and intermingles its fluids with hers. Here Aviva Dautch explores images of eroticism, death, guilt and innocence in John Donne's poem.
- Themes:
- Poetry, Gender, sexuality, courtship and marriage, Language, word play and text, Renaissance writers
John Donne and metaphysical poetry
- Article by:
- Michael Donkor
Michael Donkor explains what makes John Donne a metaphysical poet, and looks at the creative and distinctive ways in which Donne used metaphysical techniques.
- Themes:
- Renaissance writers, Language, word play and text, Poetry
‘I am every dead thing’: John Donne and death
- Article by:
- Andrew Dickson
Andrew Dickson explores John Donne's fascination with death as a literary, philosophical and emotional subject, and examines its presence in his poetry and treatises.
- Themes:
- Renaissance writers, Poetry, Language, word play and text, Power, politics and religion
A close reading of Donne’s ‘Song: Go and catch a falling star’
- Article by:
- Toby Litt
Toby Litt shows how Donne creates a mischievous relationship with his readers, as the poem builds energy and plays around with time and space.
- Themes:
- Renaissance writers, Poetry
An introduction to The Alchemist: the artist and the con
- Article by:
- Eric Rasmussen, Ian DeJong
Eric Rasmussen and Ian DeJong introduce Ben Jonson's The Alchemist, which combines self-conscious theatricality with sharp satire.
- Themes:
- Renaissance writers, Deception, drama and misunderstanding, Comedies, Magic, illusion and the supernatural
Directing Ben Jonson’s The Alchemist
- Article by:
- Polly Findlay
Polly Findlay discusses the challenges of directing Ben Jonson's play, The Alchemist.
- Themes:
- Renaissance writers, Deception, drama and misunderstanding, Comedies, Magic, illusion and the supernatural
An introduction to Volpone
- Article by:
- Sean McEvoy
Sean McEvoy explores Ben Jonson's Volpone, looking at Jonson's daring, unique brand of comedy and the play's treatment of money, greed and morality.
- Theme:
- Renaissance writers
Key features of Renaissance culture
- Article by:
- Andrew Dickson
Andrew Dickson follows the progress of the Renaissance through Europe, and examines the educational, religious, artistic and geographical developments that shaped culture during the period.
- Themes:
- Renaissance writers, Shakespeare’s life and world, Elizabethan England
An introduction to The Duchess of Malfi
- Article by:
- Michael Billington
Michael Billington explores the source material for The Duchess of Malfi and the play's reception over the last 200 years, and argues that Webster uses the tragedy to offer a vision of human existence as chaotic and unstable.
- Themes:
- Gender, sexuality, courtship and marriage, Renaissance writers, Tragedies, Power, politics and religion
The Duchess of Malfi and Renaissance women
- Article by:
- Dympna Callaghan
The Duchess of Malfi is an unusual central figure for a 17th-century tragedy not only because she is a woman, but also because, as a woman, she combines virtue with powerful sexual desire. Dympna Callaghan places Webster's character in the context of contemporary drama, politics and discourses about widows and female sexuality.
- Themes:
- Renaissance writers, Tragedies, Power, politics and religion, Gender, sexuality, courtship and marriage
An introduction to the poetry of Aemilia Lanyer
- Article by:
- Christina Luckyj
Aemilia Lanyer was one of the first Englishwomen to publish a volume of original verse. Christina Luckyj analyses her long religious poem Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum, the bittersweet ode 'The Description of Cooke-ham' and the ways in which Lanyer presents herself as a poet.
- Themes:
- Renaissance writers, Poetry, Gender, sexuality, courtship and marriage
Subversive theatre in Renaissance England
- Article by:
- Eric Rasmussen, Ian DeJong
Eric Rasmussen and Ian De Jong investigate the subversive potential of Renaissance theatre.
- Themes:
- Renaissance writers, Power, politics and religion, Gender, sexuality, courtship and marriage
Further themes
Comedies
From cross dressing in Twelfth Night to magical storms in The Tempest; from deception in Much Ado to biting satire in The Alchemist, discover the beauty and complexity of Shakespearean and Renaissance comedies.
Tragedies
From Hamlet’s melancholy to Juliet’s eloquence; and from Othello’s misunderstanding to Doctor Faustus's damnation, discover the richness of Shakespearean and Renaissance tragedies.
Histories
From the staging of disability to the influence of Machiavelli, explore the history plays of Shakespeare and other Renaissance writers.
Shakespeare’s life and world
From the open air Globe to the candlelit Blackfriars; from countryside to city; and from noblemen to strangers, discover the world that shaped Shakespeare’s work and that influenced his legacy.
Gender, sexuality, courtship and marriage
From courtship rituals to cross-dressing to love poetry, examine the ways in which Shakespeare and Renaissance writers explored identity, sexuality and gender roles.
Elizabethan England
Exploration and trade, crime and punishment, clothing and social structure: explore key aspects of Elizabethan life, culture and society.
Poetry
Discover close readings, critical interpretations and personal responses to Shakespeare’s sonnets, the poetry of John Donne and more.
Renaissance writers
Uncover the fascinating, colourful lives of Renaissance writers including John Donne, Ben Jonson and Christopher Marlowe, and explore key features and themes in their groundbreaking plays and poetry.
Ethnicity and identity
From Othello and Shylock to depictions of the ‘New World’ and anti-immigration riots, explore Shakespeare’s fascination with ethnic identity.
Power, politics and religion
A murdered king, a homeless ruler, a man who sells his soul to the Devil: discover how Shakespeare and other Renaissance writers represented power and powerlessness.
Global Shakespeare
Discover how Shakespeare’s work was influenced by other cultures, and how it’s been interpreted in nations across the world for 400 years.
Interpretations of ‘madness’
From Lear’s breakdown to Ophelia’s malady, examine the ways in which Shakespeare depicts ideas of ‘madness’.
Deception, drama and misunderstanding
Investigate the ways in which Shakespeare and Renaissance writers explore miscommunication, dishonesty, trickery and the nature of theatre.
Language, word play and text
Prose and verse, word play, neologisms and rhetoric: discover how Shakespeare and Renaissance writers developed innovative and experimental uses of language.
Magic, illusion and the supernatural
Mischievous fairies, monstrous apparitions and scheming witches: examine the ways in which Shakespeare and Renaissance writers played with the magical and supernatural.
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