Topicality and representation : Islam and Muslims in two Renaissance plays / by Hammood Khalid Obaid.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Obaid, Hammood Khalid.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Islam and the performing arts.

Islamic drama.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (270 p.)

Place of Publication:

Newcastle upon Tyne : Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2013.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This book focuses on the importance of topical reading in understanding Islamic figures and themes, and applies this approach to two landmark Elizabethan plays: George Peele's Battle of Alcazar and William Percy's Mahomet and his Heaven. The former is the first English play to present a Moor as a major character, while the latter is the first English play to be based on Quranic material and feature the Prophet of Islam as a major character. In both plays, the book argues, topical concerns pla...

Contents:

TABLE OF CONTENTS; LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS; PREFACE; ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS; BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE; GENERAL INTRODUCTION; 1.1. Definitions; 1.2. Existing knowledge about Islam and Muslims; 1.3. Literature review; 1.4. Theoretical background; 1.5. The plays and their politico-religious background; CHAPTER ONE; 1. Introduction; 1.1. Previous critical approaches; 1.2. The missing link; 2. Peele's life and works; 2.1. Life; 2.2. Works; 3. The play; 3.1. The historical incident and Peele's version of it; 3.2. Politico-historical background; 3.3. Sources; 4. Alcazar as nationalistic propaganda

4.1. The state/religion dialectic 4.2. Self-definition; 4.3. Naturalizing and exoticizing; 4.4. Characters; 4.5. Character epithets; 5. Conclusion; CHAPTER TWO; 1. Introduction; 1.1. Précis; 1.2. The play's Islamic content; 1.3. The Structure of the chapter; 2. The Percys and the crown; 2.1. The Eighth Earl; 2.2. Henry and William in France; 2.3. Father's death; 2.4. Back in England; 2.5. Northumberland and James VI; 2.6. William Percy; 3. Percy's other works; 3.1. The Aphrodysiall or Sea Feast, 1602; 3.2. The Faery Pastorall or the Forest of Elves, 1603; 3.3. Other plays

4. Geber and the wizard earl 4.1. Questioning the nickname; 4.2. Renaissance humanism and the hermetic tradition; 4.3. The Earl's circle; 4.4. Geber vs. Faustus; 4.5. William Percy's Geber; 5. Percy's Women; 5.1. Muslim women in English imagination; 5.2. Epimenide and Elizabeth; 5.3. Other women; 6. Schism and unity; 6.1. Muslim and Christian schism; 6.2. Calls for peace and unity; 6.3. James and Catholic Hopes; 6.4. Percy's allegory for peace and reconciliation; 7. Conclusion; GENERAL CONCLUSION; APPENDIX I; WORKS CITED

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (ebrary, viewed January 30, 2014).

ISBN:

1-4438-5484-0

OCLC:

868284105