Constructing ’Monsters’ in Shakespearean Drama and Early Modern Culture

Constructing 'Monsters' in Shakespearean Drama and Early Modern Culture argues for the crucial place of the 'monster' in the early modern imagination. Burnett traces the metaphorical significance of 'monstrous' forms across a range of early modern exhibition spaces - fairground displays, 'cabinets of curiosity' and court entertainments - to contend that the 'monster' finds its most intriguing manifestation in the investments and practices of contemporary theatre. The study's new readings of Shakespeare, Marlowe and Jonson make a powerful case for the drama's contribution to debates about the 'extraordinary body'.

MARK THORNTON BURNETT is a Reader in English at Queen’s University, Belfast. He is author of Masters and Servants in English Renaissance Drama and Culture: Authority and Obedience, editor of Christopher Marlowe: The Complete Plays and Christopher Marlowe: The Complete Poems.