The Cambridge Companion to Shakespearean Comedy ~ literăCUliteră

This is an accessible, wide-ranging and informed introduction to
Shakespeare’s comedies and romances. Rather than taking each play in iso-
lation, the chapters trace recurring issues, suggesting both the continuity and
the variety of Shakespeare’s practice and the creative use he made of the conven-
tions he inherited. The ﬁrst section puts Shakespeare in the context of classical
and Renaissance comedy and comic theory, the work of his Elizabethan pre-
decessors, and the traditions of popular festivity. The second section traces
a number of themes through Shakespeare’s early and middle comedies, dark
comedies and late romances, establishing the key features of his comedy as a
whole and illuminating particular plays by close analysis. Individual chapters
draw on contemporary politics, rhetoric, and the history of Shakespeare pro-
duction. Written by experts in the relevant ﬁelds, the chapters bring the reader
up to date on current thinking and frequently challenge long-standing critical
assumptions.

C O N T E N T S

Notes on contributors ix

Preface xiii

Chronology xvii

Part 1: Shakespeare and comic tradition

1 Theories of comedy 3

david galbraith

2 Roman comedy 18

robert s. miola

3 Italian stories on the stage 32

louise george clubb

4 Elizabethan comedy 47