This thesis examines drama and ideas of equity, judgement, and legality in early modern England. Drama of this age is a product of a society of disputation – and the debate surrounding the marginalised female is investigated here. Taking the lead from Ina Habermann, I argue that ‘equitable drama’ offered playgoers spaces of re-interpretive potential. Focusing initially on Arden of Faversham (1592) and A Woman Killed with Kindness (1603) I argue that these domestic tragedies focus on problematic homes during an ‘age of anxiety’. The Arden playwright engages in a re-interpretation of the murder of Thomas Arden – highlighting flaws in the legal resolution to this scandal to show how drama can probe injustice. Heywood’s A Woman Killed with Kindness illustrates an alternative domestic site of dramatic debate. Focusing on Heywood’s interrogation of acts of ‘kindness’ towards females, I suggest that Heywood demonstrates the workings of equitable drama removed from necessary correspondence to a specific real-life case. I then consider how three Jacobean dramas subject female witchcraft to in-depth equitable analysis. Contextualising Macbeth, Sophonisba, and The Witch within contemporary witchcraft debates, I suggest that these plays use witchcraft to interrogate a patriarchal society that reviled witchcraft whilst also demonstrating uncertainties about its reality. I conclude with The Witch of Edmonton (1621) – which is part witchcraft drama and part domestic tragedy. Within the depiction of the real-life ‘witch’ Sawyer, the audience is asked to question the iniquities of communal mob justice and the common law. Tracing new links between these works provides a sense of how early modern drama represented contentious issues surrounding gender, deviancy, and judgement. Ultimately, I argue that equitable drama is rooted in an early modern theatre informed by legal and social debate, which utilised interpretive difference to invigorate performance.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2004. / Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 142 p. Includes abstract and vita. Advisers: John Conteh-Morgan and Karlis Racevskis, Dept. of Fench and Italian. Includes bibliographical references (p. 134-142).

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University, 1967. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: Paul Kozelka. Dissertation Committee: Frederick D. Kershner, Jr. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1961. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis--Copenhagen. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis--Indiana University, 1976. / "77-10,977." Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 470-485).

Thèse--Université de Paris. / "Bibliographie": p. [235]-267.

Zugl.: Eichstätt, Ingolstadt, Univ., Habil.-Schr., 2008

Thesis (M.F.A.)--University of Central Florida, 2008. / Adviser: Megan Alrutz. Includes bibliographical references (p. 79-81).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Cologne. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 411-426).