Intelligence and Metadrama in the Early Modern Theatre / / Bill Angus.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Edinburgh University Press Complete eBook-Package 2018
• VerfasserIn: Angus, Bill,
• Place / Publishing House: Edinburgh : : Edinburgh University Press, , [2022]; ©2018
• Year of Publication: 2022
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (192 p.)

Explores intrinsic connections between early modern intelligencers and metadrama in the plays of Shakespeare’s contemporariesIntelligence and Metadrama in the Early Modern Theatre offers insight into why the early modern stage abounds with informer and intelligencer figures. Analysing both the nature of intelligence at the time and the metadrama that such characters generate, Angus highlights the significance of intrigue and corruption to dramatic narrative and structure. His study of metadrama reveals some of the most fundamental questions being posed about the legitimacy of authority, authorship and audience interpretation in this seminal era of English drama.Key FeaturesOffers insight into the internal workings and motivations of the drama of Shakespeare’s contemporariesOpens a new window on the ambitions, concerns, and fears of these important authorsEnhances historical understanding of the place of the intelligencer in the society and the structures of authority within which the drama was produced

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction: Errant Intelligence – The Devil’s Own -- 1 ‘Subtle sleights’: Amity and the Informer in Damon and Pithias -- 2 The Parasites of Machiavel -- 3 The Knight of the Burning Pestle and the Menace of the Audience -- 4 The Reluctant Informer: Humanising the Beast -- 5 Metadrama and the Murderous Nature of Authority -- 6 The Burning Issue: Metadrama and Contested Authority in Chettle’s Hoffman -- Conclusion: No One Is There – Ubiquity and Invisibility -- Index