Description: Referencing early modern English play texts alongside contemporary records, accounts and statutes, this study offers an overdue assessment of the relationship between the dramatic efforts of the universities and early modern male identity. Taking into account the near single-sex constitution of early modern universities, the book argues that performances of university plays, and student responses to them, were key ways of exploring and shaping early modern masculinity.
Review Quotes: 'Thoughtful, very well-researched, original and lively, this book offers an intelligent and informed analysis of material that is very illuminating about the uncertain status of learning in early modern England. The subject matter is significant, the purpose of each chapter clearly set out, and the analyses availing.' Elizabeth Hanson, Queens University, Canada 'Accessible and engaging, Marlow's thought-provoking analysis suggests the potential for opening up the field and taking a closer look at this rich body of material.' Early Theatre 'Marlow's provocative argument carves out a justification for expanding the terms by which one approaches this rich material and for resisting imposing upon it those terms relevant to the pre-professional and professional theater. His discussion raises many questions as it generously invites further scrutiny. As he observes, the time is ripe for a such a turn.' Comparative Drama