Renaissance Drama (review)

Reviewed by: Renaissance Drama Brett D. Hirsch McRae, Andrew, Renaissance Drama (Contexts), London, Arnold, 2003; cloth and paper; pp. xi, 180; RRP £35 (cloth), £10.99 (paper); ISBN 0340763469 (cloth), 0340763477 (paper). Renaissance Drama offers an insightful and engaging introduction to the contexts surrounding Renaissance drama in England. Despite its broad title, Renaissance Drama is exclusively English in scope, and although other reviewers have found this somewhat misleading, the choice of title is in keeping with the Contexts series, in which English literature is very much the assumed focus. From the outset Andrew McRae recognizes that his treatment of English Renaissance drama in this small volume 'could never be exhaustive or definitive', but nonetheless hopes that 'it will be informative and stimulating' (p. 4). In fact, the meagre length of the study belies the depth and scope of learning within its pages. Incorporating recent research in the field as well as his own sound scholarship, both avowedly historicist, McRae writes with a style that is accessible enough to be enjoyed by the undergraduate without being patronising, whilst retaining the erudition necessary to please more advanced readers. Approaching the subject thematically rather than chronologically, McRae guides the reader through the major political debates and social anxieties of the period, closely analysing their relationship to contemporary dramatic productions. At the end of the book is a section devoted to extracts from contemporary non-dramatic texts that appropriately correspond to each of the chapters. For instance, the document provided for the first chapter, which deals with playhouses and players, is an extract from Stubbes' The Anatomy of Abuses (1585), whereas the extract for chapter three, dealing with domestic issues, is taken from Gouge's Of Domesticall Duties (1622). In all cases the spelling and punctuation of the extracts have been modernized to avoid alienating the reader, whilst retaining the original spelling of titles for bibliographical purposes. The first chapter, 'Playhouses and players', introduces the reader to the origins and conditions of Renaissance drama as an institution, artistic pursuit, and financial enterprise, highlighting the uneasy relationship between patronage and market force, as well as political and religious anxieties about stages and spectacles, and how best to censor their performances. The most valuable passage in this chapter is McRae's discussion of the 'traditions and variations' of theatrical performance leading up to the Renaissance; that is, tracing the lines of influence from the mystery cycles and the morality plays, particularly in their didactic function. McRae warns against assuming a 'clear and smooth' progression, highlighting [End Page 237] other important sources and innovations that helped to 'shape the texts we now read', such as the historical sharing of the site of theatrical performance with other spectacles including bear-baiting and music (p. 12), the use of 'established ballad and prose traditions', as well as the oft-neglected importance of the actors and acting companies themselves as part of the creative process. Chapters are devoted to the other staples of historical literary criticism, namely identity, gender and domesticity, society and order, religion, power and the court, and race and colonialism. In each of these McRae manages to cover a wide range of historical source material and dramatic texts that bear witness to the issues of concern in Early Modern England. Although Shakespeare features heavily in the book, McRae makes a conscious effort to touch on other playwrights of the time. In a field traditionally focusing on Shakespeare, Marlowe, and Jonson, McRae manages to offer insights into the varied productions of other dramatists who have recently begun to enjoy renewed academic interest, including Beaumont, Cary, Chapman, Dekker, Fletcher, Ford, Greene, Heywood, Kyd, Lyly, Marston, Massinger, Middleton, Peele, Rowley, Tourneur, and Webster. Even dramatists that remain somewhat under-appreciated, such as John Day and Barnabe Barnes, receive a mention. Although the size of the book has been a major constraint, McRae uses the available space admirably and manages to cover an impressive amount of ground. His succinct and engaging writing style is something that scholarly readers will enjoy and academic writers should admire. McRae never lapses into making comfortable generalizations, often a pitfall for student readers, and is constantly reminding us that it is never same to assume simplicity...