The Cambridge Companion to English Literature, 1500–1600

This is the first comprehensive account of English Renaissance literature in the context of the culture which shaped it: the courts of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, the tumult of Catholic and Protestant alliances during the Reformation, the age of printing and of New World discovery. In this century courtly literature under Henry VIII moves toward a new, more personal poetry of sentiment, narrative and romance. The development of English prose is seen in the writing of More, Foxe and Hooker and in the evolution of satire and popular culture. Drama moves from the churches to the commercial playhouses with the plays of Kyd, Marlowe and the early careers of Shakespeare and Jonson. The Companion tackles all these subjects in fourteen newly-commissioned essays, written by experts for student readers. A detailed chronology of major literary achievements concludes with a list of authors and their dates.

• Combines contextual material with literary analysis in a way which is unusual for this period • Broad definition of literature: deals with religious writing, popular culture, voyage narratives, aesthetics • Chronology of major literary achievements plus historical events; list of authors and dates

Illustrations; Chronology of texts and events, 1500–1600; Contemporary lives Charlotte Spivack; Introduction Arthur F. Kinney; 1. The sixteenth century Colin Burrow; 2. Tudor aesthetics Clark Hulse; 3. Authorship and the material conditions of writing Wendy Wall; 4. Poetry, patronage, and the court Catherine Bates; 5. Religious writing John N. King; 6. Dramatic experiments: Tudor drama, 1490–1567 Leah S. Marcus; 7. Dramatic achievements Suzanne Gossett; 8. Lyric forms Heather Dubrow; 9. Narrative, romance, and epic Donald Cheney; 10. The evolution of Tudor satire Anne Lake Prescott; 11. Chronicles of private life Lena Cowen Orlin; 12. Popular culture in print Garrett Sullivan and Linda Woodbridge; 13. Rewriting the world, rewriting the body Raymond Waddington; 14. Writing empire and nation Richard Helgerson; Index.

‘Readers seeking a clear and informative introduction to Renaissance literary culture broadly defined will be well served by this Companion; those in search of more specialist material and inspiration will also find much of interest.’ Reformation