The Lover S Melancholy

Ford wrote darkly about sexual and political passion, thwarted ambition, and incest. This selection of four plays also shows his ability to portray the poignancy of love as well as write entertaining comedy and create convincing roles for women. Setting Ford's earliest surviving independently-written play, The Lover's Melancholy, alongside his three best-known works, The Broken Heart, 'Tis a Pity She's a Whore, and Perkin Warbeck, this edition includes an introduction with sections on each play, addressing gender issues, modern relevance, and staging possibilities.

An examination of the effects and meaning of emotional states of distress in ancient literature

"Employing a broad historical perspective that forces the reevaluation of historical and literary commonplaces, Soufas artfully illuminates the complex responses of Spanish Golden Age authors to major shifts in European intellectual outlook during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century."--Publishers website.