Peele, George. David and Bathsheba

Folger bibliographic ID: 355331
Folger call number: PR2734 .D3 2018
Folger holdings ID: 503454
Accession Number: 181563

"This volume presents a modernized edition of the one of only two surviving biblical dramas written for the early modern English professional stage: George Peele's explosive biblical drama about the tangled lives, deadly liaisons, and twisted histories of Ancient Israel's royal family. It begins with the onset of the affair between David and Bathsheba and proceeds to unravel the affair's horrible personal and political consequences. The author's critical edition is the first modern single-volume edition of the play since W.W. Greg's 1912 facsimile edition. Comprehensively introduced and containing full commentary notes, this edition opens up this unduly neglected but historically significant and dramatically powerful gem of English Renaissance drama to student and scholar alike. The introduction examines such topics as the play's treatment of its biblical and poetic sources, its engagement with Elizabethan politics, and its forceful representations of religious fanaticism, genocide, and sexual violence. Its notes record the text's full collation with the surviving fourteen copies of the play's 1599 edition and major modern editions. Its commentary notes clarify the meaning of the text and aspects of its staging, guide the reader through the play's dramatization of the turbulent Davidic period of Ancient Israel's history, and place the play in its broader cultural and artistic milieu. An appendix contains original French and translations of excerpts from one of the play's major sources, Du Bartas's Semaines."--Page 4 of cover

General notes

Includes bibliographical references and index

Contents

General editors' preface -- Acknowledgements -- List of abbreviations and references -- Introduction. George Peele -- David and Bathsheba -- David in medieval and Renaissance literature and culture -- David and Bathsheba, Elizabethan politics, and Marlowe -- David and Bathsheba, Queen Elizabeth, and sexual violence -- Sources -- David and Bathsheba, biblical drama, and performance provenance -- The text -- Conclusion -- David and Bathsheba -- Appendix : extended passages from Du Bartas

Uniform title: Love of King David and fair Bethsabe
Extended title: David and Bathsheba / George Peele ; edited by Mathew R. Martin

David, King of Israel Bathsheba (Biblical figure) Peele, George, 1556-1596. Love of King David and fair Bethsabe

author: Peele, George, 1556-1596
subject: David, King of Israel
subject: Bathsheba (Biblical figure)
editor: Martin, Mathew R., 1970-