Why Arden of Faversham is a Naked Tragedy.docVIP

Why Arden of Faversham is a Naked Tragedy 　　【Abstract】Unlike Geek Tragedies that have a rigid control over the form， Arden of Faversham which has a simple plot and an incomplete form， is not so well-known to attract numerous critics. And because the playwright is anonymous， it is entitled as a naked tragedy by the insider of the incident. But based simply on the words of the insider， scholars are not convinced that it is a naked tragedy. Therefore， this paper attempts to argue why Arden of Faversham is a naked tragedy and gives enough evidence to support this argument. Regardless of its shortcomings of being simple and anonymous， this tragedy is of great significance in the history of British Drama development to show how British Drama initiates a way different from the traditional Geek ones and gains its own characteristics. 　　【Key words】Naked tragedy； Truth； Plain structure； Bare plot 　　0 Introduction 　　As an early domestic tragedy of Elizabethan time， Arden of Faversham was sent to the Register of the Stationers Company on 3 April 1592， and was later printed by Edward White. The inspiration of its composition is so infamous a real-life killing committed in 1551 that it was written down in Chronicles by Raphael Holinshed. According to this incident， the unknown playwright portrays the killing of one Thomas Arden by his beloved wife Alice Arden and her lover with their accomplices， and their ensuing discovery and punishment. Due to its anonymity， the authorship of the play has long been a controversial topic， over which Brian Vickers in Times Literary Supplement （13-5）， Penny McCarthy in “Further Supposes” and some other scholars have expressed their views. Putting that subject aside， this study pays attention to another argument that appears in the epilogue， mentioned by the murdered husband’s friend Franklin who modestly considers the work as： 　　Gentlemen， we hope you’ll pardon this naked tragedy， 　　Wherein no filed points are foisted in 　　To make it g