While most critical writing on Jonson concentrates on the plays, poems or masques seen in isolation, this title, first published in 1981, ranges across the genres to explore Jonson’s vision as a whole.
Shakespeare is consistently interested in rulers, law, questions of authority and obedience. In this study, Alexander Leggatt examines the depiction of state and public power in the English and Roman histories.
This study removes some of the critical puzzles that Shakespeare's comedies of love have posed in the past. The author shows that what distinguishes the comedies is not their similarity but their variety.
Recovers the acting, production and performance values of the public theatre of Jacobean London. Leggatt relates this drama to the popular culture of the day, concluding with a close study of four important plays, including King Lear.