"Fathers are central to the drama of Shakespeare's time: they are revered, even sacred, yet they are also flawed human beings who feature as obstacles in plays

This book explores the central role of fathers in the plays of Shakespeare and a wide range of Elizabethan and Jacobean drama.

Examination of the motif of the prodigal son as treated in early modern drama, from Shakespeare to Beaumont and Fletcher.

Doing Kyd reads Thomas Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy, the box-office and print success of its time, as the play that established the revenge genre in England and