Book contents
- Reprints and Revivals of Renaissance Drama
- Reprints and Revivals of Renaissance Drama
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Notes on Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Note on the Text
- Introduction
- Part I The Logic of Renewal
- Part II Agents of Renewal
- Chapter 4 Henslowe on Revivals
- Chapter 5 Reviving by Design
- Chapter 6 Reprinting Othello in Republican England
- Part III The Appeal of the Old
- Part IV Making It New: Frames and Forms
- Works Cited
- Index
Chapter 5 - Reviving by Design
The Christmas Season at Court, 1621–1622
from Part II - Agents of Renewal
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 May 2026
By
Book contents
- Reprints and Revivals of Renaissance Drama
- Reprints and Revivals of Renaissance Drama
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Notes on Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Note on the Text
- Introduction
- Part I The Logic of Renewal
- Part II Agents of Renewal
- Chapter 4 Henslowe on Revivals
- Chapter 5 Reviving by Design
- Chapter 6 Reprinting Othello in Republican England
- Part III The Appeal of the Old
- Part IV Making It New: Frames and Forms
- Works Cited
- Index
Summary
This chapter asks whether we can detect signs of aesthetic or ideological design in the reviving of plays for courtly audiences. It takes as its case study the 1621–2 Christmas season at court, which is unusual in that a complete list of the plays performed has survived, with dates. The Master of the Revels, whose job it was to select plays from the commercial theatre for court performance, might have been especially cautious during this season, because it occurred at a time when King James was asserting his power over a rebellious House of Commons and restricting outspoken preachers and pamphleteers from criticizing his policies. This case study suggests that we may be justified in seeing careful design in the choice of revivals in the early modern English court.
Keywords
Information
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Reprints and Revivals of Renaissance Drama , pp. 103 - 117Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
Accessibility standard: WCAG 2.1 AA
Why this information is here
This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.Accessibility Information
The HTML of this chapter
complies with version 2.1 of the
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
(WCAG), covering newer accessibility requirements and improved
user experiences and achieves the intermediate
(AA)
level of WCAG compliance, covering a wider range of accessibility requirements.
Content Navigation
Table of contents navigation
Allows you to navigate directly to chapters, sections, or non‐text items through a linked table of contents, reducing the need for extensive scrolling.
Allows you to navigate directly to chapters, sections, or non‐text items through a linked table of contents, reducing the need for extensive scrolling.
Index navigation
Provides an interactive index, letting you go straight to where a term or subject appears in the text without manual searching.
Provides an interactive index, letting you go straight to where a term or subject appears in the text without manual searching.
Reading Order & Textual Equivalents
Single logical reading order
You will encounter all content (including footnotes, captions, etc.) in a clear, sequential flow, making it easier to follow with assistive tools like screen readers.
You will encounter all content (including footnotes, captions, etc.) in a clear, sequential flow, making it easier to follow with assistive tools like screen readers.
Short alternative textual descriptions
You get concise descriptions (for images, charts, or media clips), ensuring you do not miss crucial information when visual or audio elements are not accessible.
You get concise descriptions (for images, charts, or media clips), ensuring you do not miss crucial information when visual or audio elements are not accessible.
Full alternative textual descriptions
You get more than just short alt text: you have comprehensive text equivalents, transcripts, captions, or audio descriptions for substantial non‐text content, which is especially helpful for complex visuals or multimedia.
You get more than just short alt text: you have comprehensive text equivalents, transcripts, captions, or audio descriptions for substantial non‐text content, which is especially helpful for complex visuals or multimedia.
Visual Accessibility
Use of colour is not sole means of conveying information
You will still understand key ideas or prompts without relying solely on colour, which is especially helpful if you have colour vision deficiencies.
You will still understand key ideas or prompts without relying solely on colour, which is especially helpful if you have colour vision deficiencies.
Structural and Technical Features
ARIA roles provided
You gain clarity from ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) roles and attributes, as they help assistive technologies interpret how each part of the content functions.
You gain clarity from ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) roles and attributes, as they help assistive technologies interpret how each part of the content functions.