Four Tudor Comedies

Tudor dramatists were very aware of the healthful benefits of laughter and how comedy as much as tragedy can be "a mirrour of man's life". Jackie Jugeler sets out to make its audience "merie and glad" in troubled times. The hero of Roister Doister is an immortal buffoon, convinced - despite all evidence - that he is irresistible to Custance, the woman of his dreams. Ganmmer Gurton's Nedle is a landmark, according to William Tydeman, in integrating classical inspiration with the "immense variety, vitality and visciousness of the Tudor kitche-sink mode". Mother Bombie, with its multiple amours and unmaskings, confirms Lyly as one of the supreme stylists of the English stage. William Tydeman's Introduction to this edition sets the scene and makes a full appriasal of the context and achievement of these Tudor comedies