1st Edition
The Materiality of Religion in Early Modern English Drama
By Elizabeth Williamson
Copyright 2009
244 Pages
by
Routledge
242 Pages
by
Routledge
242 Pages
by
Routledge
Also available as eBook on:
The Materiality of Religion in Early Modern English Drama is the first book to present a detailed examination of early modern theatrical properties informed by the complexity of post-Reformation religious practice. Although English Protestant reformers set out to destroy all vestiges of Catholic idolatry, public theater companies frequently used stage properties to draw attention to the remnants... Read more
Contents: Introduction: mere properties: the materiality of religious objects; 'Things newly performed': tomb properties and the survival of dramatic tradition; The trappings of ceremony: setting the table and other theatrical practices; Persistence and adaptation: staging the cross at home and abroad; The performance of piety: book properties and the paradox of dematerialized devotion; Coda: unconsidered trifles: stage properties as theatrical relics; Select bibliography; Index.
Biography
Elizabeth Williamson is Assistant Professor of English at The Evergreen State College, USA
’Williamson's research establishes a fruitful conversation among scholarly fields that are not always perceived as overlapping one another. ... As a result, one of the book's most attractive features is the impressive range of sources - including both early modern documents and modern critical works. ... The Materiality of Religion in Early Modern English Drama will prove valuable to scholars of Reformation history, theatrical history and material culture alike.’ Renaissance Quarterly '... the study also makes a valuable contribution to post-revisionist scholarship on the longer-term impact of the English Reformation. ... should be commended for such deft and effective straddling of the study of early modern drama, performance and religion...' Recusant History 'The Materiality of Religion in Early Modern English Drama will be of great interest to scholars of early modern stagecraft, religion, and performance hIstory.' Medieval and Renaissance Drama in England
