The Malcontent by John Marston

by Hunter, George K.

• ISBN13: 9780719030949
• ISBN10: 0719030943
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-03-11
• Publisher: Manchester University Press

Summary

"This Malevole is one of the most prodigious affections that ever conversed with nature: a man, or rather a monster, more discontent than Lucifer." "" "The Malcontent" is a striking example of the new satiric tone and moral seriousness in English comedy of the early 1600s. The play's vision of a fallen humanity driven by lust and ambition is created partly by its depiction of Machiavellian intrigue in the court of Genoa, and partly by the disaffected Malevole, the malcontent of the title, who is actually the deposed Duke Altofronto in disguise. Marston's tragi-comedy is full of reversals, surprises and moral transformations and offers a thin disguise for the Jacobean court and its vices. This new student edition contains a lengthy new Introduction with background on the author, date and sources, theme, critical interpretation and stage history.

Author Biography

George K. Hunter is Professor of English and Renaissance Studies at Yale University.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	ix
General Editor's Preface	xi
Preface	xiii
Abbreviations	xv
Introduction	xix
The Author	xix
The Text	xxiii
The Date	xli
The Additions	xlvi
The Play	liii
The contemporary setting	liii
Satire and tragicomedy	lxi
Style	lxxiv
Stage History	lxxxi
Editions	lxxxv
The Malcontent	1	(162)
Appendix Press Corrections	163	(4)
Glossarial Index to the Commentary	167