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Philaster is a tragicomedy by Beaumont and Fletcher which hasmuch in common with Shakespeare''s late plays such as The Winter''s Tale .Set in a fictionalised Sicily, it has the complex plot of love,disguise and the threat of death much loved by early moderntheatre-goers. This edition provides an authoritative, modernised text by a leadingscholar with detailed on-page commentary notes giving readers a deeperunderstanding of the play. The comprehensive, illustrated introductiondiscusses Philaster from a performance perspective as well as itsrelation to Shakespearean drama, and places it in its historical andcritical contexts. The play is often taught on Shakespeare and Early Modern dramacourses but only now is such a detailed, modern edition available foruse by students and scholars. With its wealth of helpful and incisivecommentary, this is the finest edition of the play available. The Arden Early Modern Drama series accompanies and complements theArden Shakespeare Third Series, offering editions of non-ShakespeareanRenaissance drama and Restoration drama from the period 1500-1700.Modelled on the Third Series in appearance and style ArdenEarly Modern Drama editions will offer high-quality textual scholarshipand full annotation, together with an accessible, student-friendlyintroduction.
About the author
Francis Beaumont (1584-1616) was an English playwright, mainly remembered for his successful collaboration with John Fletcher. Beaumont's most famous plays include The Woman Hater and The Knight of the Burning Pestle. He began to collaborate with Fletcher in about 1606-08, and their first success came in 1609 with Philaster, followed a year later by The Maid's Tragedy and A King and No King. Together, they wrote at least six plays; in a further seven or eight cases the attribution is probable but not certain.Suzanne Gossett (Ph.D. Princeton) is Professor Emerita of English at Loyola University Chicago. She is a General Editor of Arden Early Modern Drama and has recently served as president of the Shakespeare Association of America.John Fletcher (1579-1625) was an English dramatist who collaborated with Francis Beaumont on at least six plays. They began working together in about 1607 and had their first success in 1609 with Philaster; or Love Lies Bleeding.
After Beaumont's retirement in 1613, Fletcher became chief playwright for the King's Men; in addition to writing his own plays, he apparently collaborated with Shakespeare on three works: Two Noble Kinsmen, Henry VIII, and a lost play, The History of Cardenio. He also collaborated with Nathan Field, William Rowley and Philip Massinger, who succeeded him to the post of the King's Men's playwright in 1625.
His own plays include the pastoral The Faithful Shepherdess (1608), the tragedy Bonduca (1613), and the comedies Wit Without Money (1614), The Wild Goose Chase (1621), and The Chances (1625), which was revived at the Chichester Festival Theatre in 1962. His work remained enormously popular until the end of the 17th century.
Summary
Philaster is a tragicomedy by Beaumont and Fletcher which has much in common with Shakespeare's late plays such as The Winter's Tale. This edition provides a modernised text edited to the scholarlystandards associated with all Arden editions and a detailed,illustrated introduction.
