The Rise of the Common Player
A Study of Actor and Society in Shakespeare's England

Table of Contents

List of plates
Preface
Notes on the badges and armorial bearings
Arms and badges
Acknowledgements
Part I. Players and Society:
1. From minstrel to comedian, the actor's art, 1300–1572
2. The new estate. Social status of the common player in London, 1559–1603, the rise of Leicester's Men and the founding of the theatre
3. Attack and defence, 1557–1615, and the rise of the player–poets
4. The creation of the common audience
5. The poet's art and the player's quality, the integration of drama and the rise of tragedy
Part II. Common Players, 1575–1600:
6. Leicester's men at Kenilworth, Laneham's letter. Afterword, 1978
7. The Queen's livery, Richard Tarlton
8. The Queen's livery, Robert Wilson
9. Master of the Royal Game, Edward Alleyn
Part III. Household Players, 1574–1606:
10. The livery and the surplice, the rise and fall of the choristers' theatres in London, 1574–1606
Part IV. All the World's a Stage, 1559–1607:
11. Drama as offering
the Queen's summers welcomes and Christmas revels
12. The private audience, collegiate revels at the university
Epilogue
Notes
Table of dates, 1558–1616
Index.