General & Miscellaneous Drama, Drama - Literary Criticism, Fiction Subjects, British & Irish Drama, English Literature

A Game at Chess

Name: A Game at Chess
Author: T. H. Howard-Hill
ISBN: 9780719015465

by T. H. Howard-Hill

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Overview

For many years Middleton's "A Game at Chess" was more notorious than read, considered rather a phenomenon of theatrical history than a pre-eminent piece of dramatic writing. "A Game at Chess" was a nine days' wonder, an exceptional play of King James' reign on account of its unprecedented representation of matters of state usually forbidden on the stage. The King's Men performed the play uninterruptedly between 5th and 14th August, 1624 at their Globe Theatre, attracting large audiences, before the Privy Council closed the theatre by the King's command. More recently, growing interest in the connections of economics and politics with authorship have promoted readings that locate the play so firmly within its historical context as propaganda that, again, its worthwhile literary and theatrical qualities are neglected. In writing "A Game at Chess", Middleton employed the devices of the neoclassical comedy of intrigue within the matrix of the traditional oral play. What might have seemed old-fashioned allegory was rejuvenated by his adoption of the fashionable game of chess as the fiction within which the play was set. The product of Middleton's experienced craftsmanship is at once deceptively simple and surprisingly complex.

About the Author, T. H. Howard-Hill

T.H. Howard-Hill is C. Wallace Martin Professor of English at the University of South Carolina.

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Booknews

New, annotated edition of Middleton's notorious play, first performed in 1624, which uses the metaphor of chess to satirize men in high places. Distributed by St. Martin's Press. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Booknews

A fully-annotated edition of Middleton's notorious play that provoked a scandal when it appeared in 1624 London by veiling its satire of people in high places a little too thinly behind a metaphor of chess play. Its nine performances were so popular that the government closed The Globe Theatre. The new edition is based on the many surviving manuscripts and documents, and contextualizes the play with contemporary reports and proclamations. Includes an index to the annotations. Distributed in the US by St. Martin's Press. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)