Scepticism and belief in English witchcraft drama, 1538-1681 / Eric Pudney.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Pudney, Eric, author.

Contributor:

Samuel P. Orlando Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

English drama--Early modern and Elizabethan, 1500-1600--History and criticism.

English drama.

Witchcraft in literature.

English drama--Early modern and Elizabethan.

Genre:

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Physical Description:

viii, 344 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Lund, Sweden : Lund University Press 2019.

Summary:

This is a study of the representation of witches in early modern English drama, organised around the themes of scepticism and belief. It covers the entire early modern period, including the Restoration, and pays particular attention to three plays in which witchcraft is central: The Witch of Edmonton (1621), The Late Lancashire Witches (1634) and The Lancashire Witches (1681). Always a controversial issue, witchcraft has traditionally been seen in terms of a debate between 'sceptics' and 'believers'. This book argues instead that, while the concepts of scepticism and belief are central to an understanding of early modern witchcraft, they are more fruitfully understood not as static and mutually exclusive positions within the witchcraft debate, but as rhetorical tools used by both sides.

Contents:

1 Scepticism in the Renaissance p. 10

Sceptics and believers p. 14

Evidence, authority, and ridicule p. 19

Histories and stories: facts, fictions, and lies p. 27

Rhetorical scepticism p. 33

Submerged scepticism p. 40

Protestant scepticism and the origins of witchcraft drama p. 45

2 Witchcraft in Elizabethan drama p. 58

Gender, scepticism, and magic in Elizabethan England p. 61

Fedele and Fortunio: the female witch as male magician p. 77

Classical witches and Elizabethan prophecy p. 81

The Golden Asse and early modern witchcraft p. 89

A Midsummer Night's Dream: witchcraft without witches p. 97

Joan of Arc, Margery Jourdain, and the historical witch p. 103

Magic and demonology in Dr Faustus and its competitors p. 110

3 Witchcraft in Jacobean drama p. 130

Sophonisba p. 132

Macbeth p. 137

The Masque of Queens p. 155

Frances Howard, court scandal, and The Witch p. 160

4 The Witch of Edmonton p. 182

Scepticism in The Witch of Edmonton p. 184

The devil and sin in The Witch of Edmonton p. 192

The social and the demonic p. 200

Evidence and authority in The Witch of Edmonton p. 206

5 The Late Lancashire Witches p. 209

Witchcraft in the 1630s p. 210

Thomas Hey wood and witchcraft p. 217

The play and the case p. 220

Debating witchcraft in The Late Lancashire Witches p. 226

Two types of witchcraft p. 238

6 Witchcraft in the Restoration p. 244

The nature of spirit and body p. 247

Witchcraft in the theatre p. 260

7 The Lancashire Witches p. 278

Scepticism in The Lancashire Witches p. 279

Good and bad witchcraft p. 287

The play and the plot p. 291.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Samuel P. Orlando Fund.

Other Format:

ebook version :

ISBN:

9789198376869

9198376861

OCLC:

1101759908