This book features five plays from the English Renaissance that explore political questions and developments by telling stories about the erotic impulses of a ruler. The volume contains fully annotated and modernized versions of Marlowe’s Edward II, Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure, Massinger’s The Duke of Milan, Davenant’s The Cruel Brother, and Ford’s Love’s Sacrifice.
The editor provides an introduction, initial discussion, and selected illustration(s) for each play, along with an introduction to erotic politics and the Renaissance–era political mentality. A bibliography includes suggestions for further reading and a list of useful websites for students.

Curtis Perry is a professor of English at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.

Edited by Curtis Perry
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 555
Bibliographic Info: facsimiles, appendix, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2008
pISBN: 978-0-7864-3165-6
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1026-9
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vi
Introduction      1
An Editorial Note      22

Edward the Second, by Christopher Marlowe      23
Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare      131
The Duke of Milan by Philip Massinger      238
The Cruel Brother by William Davenant      341
Love’s Sacrifice by John Ford      437

Appendix: Useful Websites      539
Bibliography      541
Index      547