The Knight of the Burning Pestle

This play is a celebration of London life and theatre in which Francis Beaumont’s comic genius is given free rein. A grocer, his wife and their two apprentices attending the theatre in holiday mood interrupt and finally replace a fatuous love comedy with their own heart’s desire: exotic spectacle and sound English sentiment. This edition presents an accurate modern-spelling text, with full historical and critical introduction and a detailed commentary. The introduction analyses the character of Beaumont’s wit and his unsentimental critique of society and of society’s stage image. It also places The Knight in the contexts of Jacobean comedy and the work of the children’s theatrical troupes. An appendix on the songs and a concern for details of production make this edition especially useful to actors and directors, as well as students of Renaissance drama.