is an anonymous domestic tragedy, first printed in 1599. It is noteworthy for its representation of a real sixteenth-century murder which took place in 1573. It interweaves realistic and allegorical action, including an induction scene featuring a conversation between the personified genres of Comedie, Historie, and Tragedie, and lengthy courtroom and execution scenes at the conclusion. The date of the play’s first composition and staging are unknown, but the title page of the 1599 quarto edition states that it “hath been lately diuerse times” performed by the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, the company that also produced Shakespeare’s plays. It was published in an original spelling modern edition in 1975 (Cannon, 1975).
On 25 March 1573, a London merchant named
1914 words
Citation: O'Brien, Emily. "A Warning for Fair Women". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 16 March 2020 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=35679, accessed 31 October 2024.]
