Each of the essays included here combines in a clear and comprehensive way, contemporary literary theory and sound practical criticism. The contributors, all leading authorities on the subject, cover the poetry of John Donne: the theology and impact of the Book of Common Prayer, the politics of Jacobean theatre; the works of Thomas Nashe; the popular fictions and ballads of the period; and the theory and practice of poetic production and artistic ideology. The book combines a comprehensive range of literary approaches (Marxist, feminist, post-structuralist) in order to investigate selected aspects of the richly diverse culture of the early seventeenth century. A selected bibliography is included for further reading.