The theater of the English Renaissance features pirates, witches, kings and queens, incestuous lovers, and the occasional talking dog. It was the popular, mass entertainment of its age, written at a time of intense social, political, and economic change.  Reading a selection of comedies and tragedies from this period, we will investigate their continued relevance to our own cultural contests (race relations, class conflict, and canon formation, for example) while at the same time considering the works within their historical and theatrical contexts. Turning our attention to the plays of Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson, John Webster, Thomas Middleton, and others, we will consider a range of topics, including genre, performance history, politics, religion, and gender.