Thomas Dekker's The Shoemaker's Holiday is one of the most popular of Elizabethan plays--entertaining, racy and vivid in its characterization. Revealing a vital portrait of Elizabethan London and the interaction of social classes within the city, its social commentary is on the whole optimistic, though darker tones are discernible. The play has had a lively history of performance on both the professional and amateur stage.
| GENERAL EDITORS' PREFACE |
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vii | (2) |
| PREFACE |
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ix | (1) |
| ABBREVIATIONS |
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x | (2) |
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xii | |
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1 | (70) |
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1 Dekker's career: the play in its biographical context |
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1 | (7) |
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2 Date: the play in its historical and literary context |
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8 | (9) |
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3 The use of source material |
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17 | (9) |
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26 | (18) |
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44 | (9) |
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44 | (3) |
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47 | (6) |
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53 | (18) |
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53 | (5) |
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58 | (4) |
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62 | (1) |
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63 | (8) |
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71 | (132) |
| APPENDICES |
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203 | (19) |
| A Dekker's use of The Gentle Craft |
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203 | (16) |
| B The play's title |
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219 | (3) |
| INDEX TO THE COMMENTARY |
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222 | |
Robert Smallwood is Director of Courses at the Shakespeare Institute of the University of Birmingham.
Stanley Wells is General Editor of the Oxford Anthology of Shakespeare.
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