Tis Pity Shes A Whore

the long version

"Incest, adultery and revenge take centre stage in John Ford's dramatic account of the sublime and yet destructive power of human passions. Sympathetic yet unflinching in its exploration of sexuality and desire, 'Tis Pity She's a Whore promotes a radical type of pity which seems utterly modern to contemporary readers and audiences. Ford's dramatic originality is embodied in its heroine, Annabella, who defies conventions, domestic violence, and the obsessive and self-centred idealism of her brother and lover, Giovanni. As well as exploring its modernity, Sonia Massai offers an historically informed approach to the play, through which sexuality is viewed as a marker of personal identity, and as a potential threat to social order and the Renaissance ideals of civic and self-rule."--Page 4 of cover.