Constructing Monsters in Shakespeares Drama and Early Modern Culture

Constructing Monsters in Shakespearean Drama and Early Modern Culture argues for the crucial place of the monster in the early modern imagination. Burnett traces the metaphorical significance of monstrous forms across a range of early modern exhibition spaces - fairground displays, cabinets of curiosity and court entertainments - to contend that the monster finds its most intriguing manifestation in the investments and practices of contemporary theatre. The studys new readings of Shakespeare, Marlowe and Jonson make a powerful case for the dramas contribution to debates about the extraordinary body.