Editing Shakespearean tragedy (section)

==Influences and sources==
[[File:Faustus Manuscript in the Huntingdon Library.jpg|thumb|''[[Doctor Faustus (play)|The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus]]'' by [[Christopher Marlowe]], in the [[Huntington Library]], [[San Marino, California]]]]
The [[English Renaissance]], when Shakespeare was writing, was fueled by a renewed interest in Roman and Greek classics and neighboring [[renaissance]] literature written years earlier in Italy, France, and Spain.{{sfn|Dunton-Downer|Riding|2004}} Shakespeare wrote the majority of his tragedies under the rule of [[James VI and I|James I]], and their darker contents may reflect the general mood of the country following the death of [[Elizabeth I]], as well as James's theatrical preferences.{{sfn|Dunton-Downer|Riding|2004}} Shakespeare, as was customary for other playwrights in his day, used history, other plays, and non-dramatic literature as sources for his plays. Additionally, tragedy was a new and exciting theatrical phenomenon in the late 16th century, rather than an established and self-evident dramatic form; because of this, Shakespeare and his contemporaries' plays did not necessary fit into a single genre.<ref>Hodge, Rachael. ''[http://turing.library.northwestern.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/before-genre-tragedy-patches-early-english/docview/2773990139/se-2 Before Genre : Tragedy in Patches in the Early English Playhouses]'', University of Oxford (United Kingdom), England, 2022''.''</ref> In [[Elizabethan England]] there was no [[copyright]] law or protections against [[plagiarism]], so characters, plots, and even whole phrases of poetry were considered common property.{{sfn|Bryson|2007|p=99}} The majority of Shakespeare's tragedies are based on historical figures, with the exception of ''[[Measure for Measure]]'' and ''[[Othello]]'', which are based on narrative fictions by [[Giraldi Cintio]].{{sfn|Dunton-Downer|Riding|2004}} The historical basis for Shakespeare's Roman plays comes from ''The Lives of Noble Grecians and Romans'' by [[Plutarch]],{{sfn|Mowat|Werstine|2013}} whereas the source of Shakespeare's Britain-based plays and ''[[Hamlet]]'' (based on the Danish Prince Amleth){{sfn|Hoy|1992}} derive from ''[[Holinshed's Chronicles]]''.{{sfn|Dunton-Downer|Riding|2004}} Furthermore, the French author [[François de Belleforest|Belleforest]] published ''The Hystorie of Hamblet, Prince of Denmarke'' in 1582, which includes specifics from how the prince pretended madness, to how the prince stabbed and killed the King's counsellor who was eavesdropping on Hamlet and his mother behind the arras in the Queen's chamber.{{sfn|Hoy|1992}} The story of Lear appears in [[Geoffrey of Monmouth|Geoffrey of Monmouth's]] ''Historia regium Britanniae'' {{Circa|1135}}, and then in [[John Higgins (poet)|John Higgins]]' poem ''[[The Mirror for Magistrates]]'' in 1574, as well as appearing in Holinshed's ''Chronicles'' in 1587.{{sfn|Foakes|1997}} Some events that happen in Shakespeare's ''[[King Lear]]'' were inspired by various episodes of [[Philip Sidney]]'s ''[[Astrophel and Stella|Arcadia]]'' from 1590, while the nonsensical musings of Edgar's "poor Tom" heavily reference [[Samuel Harsnett|Samuel Harsnett's]] 1603 book, ''A Declaration of Egregious Popish Impostures''.{{sfn|Foakes|1997}}