International Journal of Language & Literature

Marriage and Adultery in Renaissance Drama
Wjoud Almadani

Abstract
Many significant changes occurred in the early modern age. English society was influenced by many factors, including foreign trade, educational expansion, and land marketing. All these changes affected English family behavior and provoked new social conflicts, such as adultery and cuckoldry. Literary culture responded to these changes: dramatists, for example, did not just reflect English social norms in their literary works, but also investigated social conflicts, as well as offering solutions to these conflicts. Thomas Middleton’s A Chaste Maid in Cheapsideoffers a reflection of social change within English urban society, and particularly how commerce and economic self-interest were seen to violate social values. This play portrays greed as well as social and sexual corruption. Tis Pity She’s a Whore is John Ford’s most famous play; It is a revenge tragedy that takes place in Parma, and presents different sexual relationships between several characters. In this play, Middleton shows us a relationship between individualism and sexual love.

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