A Woman Killed With Kindness

Though Heywood’s early life is difficult to plot with certainty, the general consensus is that he was born in the 1570s, educated at college, and moved to London, where he began writing plays in the 1590s. He was a member of the Admiral’s Men, the second largest Elizabethan/Stuart acting company of the time. He later joined Lord Strange’s Men and Worcester’s Men, two other acting companies, and he claimed to have written or assisted in writing over 200 plays. Heywood wrote tragedies, comedies, historical (or “chronicle”) plays, romances, poetry, and prose, though only a limited amount of his work survives. A Woman Killed with Kindness is considered Heywood’s masterpiece, although he is also known for the prose essay An Apology for Actors, which argued against Puritan criticisms of the theater. Notably, when Anne tries to reject Wendoll in A Woman Killed with Kindness, his response is, “You talk too like a puritan” (184), referencing the Puritans’ strict sexual mores.

Heywood is best known for his ability to portray middle-class, common life in the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. A Woman Killed with Kindness is often cited as an example of this talent for domestic sentiment.