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Scepticism and belief in English witchcraft drama, 1538-1681
| Material Type | E-Book |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Lund : Lund University Press |
| Year | 2019 |
| Language | English |
| Size | 1 online resource (360 pages) |
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| Media type | 機械可読データファイル |
|---|---|
| Notes | This book situates witchcraft drama within its cultural and intellectual context, highlighting the centrality of scepticism and belief in witchcraft to the genre. It is argued that these categories are most fruitfully understood not as static and mutually exclusive positions within the debate around witchcraft, but as rhetorical tools used within it. In drama, too, scepticism and belief are vital issues. The psychology of the witch character is characterised by a combination of impious scepticism towards God and credulous belief in the tricks of the witch's master, the devil. Plays which present plausible depictions of witches typically use scepticism as a support: the witch's power is subject to important limitations which make it easier to believe. Plays that take witchcraft less seriously present witches with unrestrained power, an excess of belief which ultimately induces scepticism. But scepticism towards witchcraft can become a veneer of rationality concealing other beliefs that pass without sceptical examination. The theatrical representation of witchcraft powerfully demonstrates its uncertain status as a historical and intellectual phenomenon; belief and scepticism in witchcraft drama are always found together, in creative tension with one another Open Access English Print version record |
| Authors | *Pudney, Eric. |
| Subjects | LCSH:Electronic books BSH:Electronic books FREE:Criticism, interpretation, etc FREE:Witchcraft FREE:Demonology FREE:Scepticism FREE:Belief FREE:Magic FREE:The Witch of Edmonton FREE:The Late Lancashire Witches FREE:The Lancashire Witches FREE:Macbeth FREE:Dr Faustus LCSH:English drama -- Early modern and Elizabethan, 1500-1600 -- History and criticism All Subject Search LCSH:Witchcraft in literature LCSH:Witches in literature LCSH:Belief and doubt in literature LCSH:English drama -- 17th century -- History and criticism All Subject Search FREE:Literary studies: plays & playwrights FREE:Early modern history: c 1450/1500 to c 1700 BISACSH:Literary Criticism / Subjects & Themes FREE:Witches in literature FREE:Witchcraft in literature FREE:English drama -- Early modern and Elizabethan All Subject Search FREE:English drama FREE:Belief and doubt in literature FREE:Literature FREE:1500-1699 |
| Classification | DC23:822.209 |
| ID | ED00003970 |
| ISBN | 9789198376876 |
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