Touching on everyone from Marlowe to Middleton and Jonson, Essays on Elizabethan Drama is a rigorous collection of T.S. Eliot’s landmark literary criticism on the great poetic dramatists of the 16th century. Re-examining his own influential views, Eliot delivers piercing analysis on: The Influence of Seneca: A foundational look at how Seneca’s Stoicism and dramatic form shaped the very structure of English tragedy. Major Elizabethan Dramatists: In-depth studies of Christopher Marlowe’s driving blank verse and Thomas Middleton’s profound moral vision. The "Minor" Jacobean Playwrights: A reappraisal of the unique genius of so-called minor figures, including Cyril Tourneur, John Ford, and Thomas Heywood. The Development of Blank Verse: An analysis of how the period’s poetic language evolved, from the innovations of Marlowe to the sophisticated verse of the Jacobeans.