This book considers the influence that sixteenth-century and early seventeenth-century mathematical thinking exerted on the writing and production of popular drama between about 1587 and 1603. It concentrates upon six plays by five early modern dramatists: Tamburlaine, Part 1 (1587) and Tamburlaine, Part 2 (1587) by Christopher Marlowe; Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay (1589) by Robert Greene; Old Fortunatus (1599) by Thomas Dekker; Hamlet (1600) by William Shakespeare; and The Tragedy of Hoffman (1603) by Henry Chettle. Each chapter analyses how the terms, concepts, and implications of contemporary mathematics impacted upon these plays’ vocabularies, forms, and aesthetic and dramaturgical effects and affects.
First book to examine the influence that sixteenth-century and early seventeenth-century mathematical thinking exerted on the writing and production of early modern drama Examines how how the terms, concepts, and implications of early modern mathematics impacted upon plays’ vocabularies, forms, and aesthetic and dramaturgical effects and affects Focuses analysis on six key plays from five key early modern dramatists
Joseph Jarrett
Literature and science Scientific Revolution Robert Greene Thomas Dekker William Shakespeare Henry Chettle Christopher Marlowe