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