Printing John Bale’s Plays

This essay analyses four of John Bale’s interludes (Three Laws, God’s Promises, The Temptation, and John Baptist’s Preaching) as early examples of printed plays in England. It shows Bale’s direct involvement in the printing of the plays and his close co-operation with the printer van der Straten. The prints followed two objectives: polemical concerns to create books in favour of the Reformation, and a desire to reflect an interest in performance. These motives affected layout and decoration of the books, which set standards for the print of early Protestant drama in England.