Renaissance Revivals: City Comedy and Revenge Tragedy in the London Theater, 1576-1980.

Abstract

Revivals examines patterns in the London revivals of two English Renaissance theatre genres over the past four centuries. Griswold's focus on revenge tragedies and city comedies illuminates the ongoing interaction between society and its cultural products. No cultural object is ever created anew, she argues, but is instead constructed from existing cultural genres and conventions, the visions and professional needs of the artist, and the interests of an audience. Thus, every play is in part a renaissance and every revival is in part an entirely new cultural object.