CONTENTS:

1. Introduction
     John Webster’s life
     English drama, 1560-1642
     The playhouses
     A note on the text
2. Summaries
     A general summary
     Detailed summaries
3. Commentary
     Revenge: historical and social background
     Revenge plays
     Webster’s world
     The Italian setting
     Women, marriage and widowhood
     Webster’s sources and borrowings
     The Dramatic Unities and structure
     Irony
     Verse and prose
     Characters
     Imagery
4. Hints for study
     Preparing for an examination
     In an examination
     Model answers
     Guidelines for answers
5. Suggestions for further reading