The Works of Richard Edwards: Politics, Poetry and Performance in Sixteenth-Century England (review)

Abstract

212 Reviews Other essays examine the idea that medieval art functioned as argument; a miniature of the Parousia in a ninth-century manuscript of the Christian Topography held in the Vatican, and Abbot Suger's project in the 1140s to furnish the choir of Saint-Denis with stained glass windows. The arguments throughout are illustrated with a plethora of well-chosen, well-reproduced plates and figures. Kessler's style is readable and enthusiastic, and there are extensive notes and a good index, though no bibliography. This volume is recommended for art historians and ecclesiastical historians alike, as it contains much interesting material. The style and illustrations are such that it could profitably be read by an interested layperson or relatively junior student. It is a good addition to any library or bookshelf. Carole M. Cusack Studies in Religion University ofSydney King, Ros, The Works of Richard Edwards: Politics, Poetry and Performance in Sixteenth-Century England (The Revels Plays Companion Library), Manchester and N e w York, Manchester University Press, 2001; cloth; pp. xiv, 269; R.R.P. £45.00; ISBN 0719052998 Ros King's study is a welcome contribution to a decidedly modest field of wo on the sixteenth-century dramatist, poet and musician Richard Edwards. This latest addition to the excellent Revels Plays Companion Library series offers a rare look into the dynamics of Court drama and public spectacle in the turbulent early years of the Reformation, prior to the advent of the commercial public theatres. King's book is both comprehensive and ambitious with two distinct parts. The first, a lengthy Introduction to Edwards, includes a biography, a critical analysis ofhis surviving works and an extensive, well-researched supply ofhistorical context . The second section includes the text ofEdwards' only surviving play, Damon and Pythias (1564?), his dramatic poetry and accompanying musical scores. The Introduction is also something of a self-defence, designed to offset the lack of concrete evidence available to reconstruct a study of Edwards' life and work. King begins her commentary with the statement 'Richard Edwards is something of an enigma' (p. 1). This is true of the man himself, but also of his work, very little of which has survived. This is despite the popularity Edwards enjoyed during his own lifetime and the high esteem in which he was held in Reviews 213 the decade or two following his death in 1566. The Introduction is perhaps at its most engaging when King traces the complications associated with recovering the career of a 'lost' dramatist such as Edwards. Principally, Edwards wrote for the Court. As King observes, 'the history ofsixteenth-century drama relies almost entirely on records of payment' (p. 5). This means that, in the case of someone like Edwards, it is difficult to recover his career as most of what he wrote was produced as a service to the Court and would have been paid for, if at all, as part ofa more general commission, rather than on a recorded 'case by case' basis. King then embarks on an overview of the various sources through which she has compiled this study of Edwards, his works and the Tudor Court environment in which they were performed. What is striking here is the diversity of materials on which King has drawn. This account of her research offers the equivalent of a step-by-step guide to recovering a 'lost' literary figure which should be of interest to any humanities researcher. The earliest traces of Edwards' writing career appear in the context of public entertainments such as Mary's coronation play and Edward VI's Christmas entertainments, which have a strong political and religious edge to them. While evidence of Edwards' participation in these events is scratchy, they do provide a viable context for the emergence ofEdwards as an important dramatist and later participant in the staging of largescale public celebrations such as Elizabeth I's coronation. An interesting commentary on antitheatricalism precedes a very brief (two page) reading of Damon and Pythias as a defence of theatre. The connection of the antitheatricalism to Edwards' play, however, is not made entirely clear. Equally challenging is King's suggestion that Edwards' work contains a defence ofmusic and poetry...