The Evolution of Satyr Duality in John Marston's

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

The Evolution of Satyr Duality in John Marston's THE EVOLUTION OF SATYR DUALITY IN JOHN MARSTON'S DRAMA by James Omer Taylor A THESIS Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School University of Ottawa In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of English Under the supervision of Richard N. Pollard, Ph.D. Ottawa, Ontario October 1973 (j) James Omer Taylor, Ottawa, 1974, UMI Number: DC53861 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI UMI Microform DC53861 Copyright 2011 by ProQuest LLC All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 copied ty LnJ tit -Wtepte-V- ~b ^ 0£fiM32g, W G»*Me.W^«- |UJ|. CONTENTS Page CURRICULUM VITAE i ABSTRACT ±± ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER I The Satyr in a Dramatic Context His trio-Mastix 59 Jacke Drum's Entertainment 7 7 CHAPTER II Satyr Tension in Transition Plays Antonio and Mellida 9 4 what You Will 125 CHAPTER III The Satyr in the Revenge Play Antonio's Revenge 151 CHAPTER IV The Satyr Mask The Malcontent 176 The Dutch Courtezan 19 2 The Fawn 222 CHAPTER V The Satyr Faces in Tragedy Sophonisba 247 CONCLUSION 316 BIBLIOGRAPHY 322 CURRICULUM VITAE James Omer Taylor Born: March 12, 1942 Graduated from Antigonish High School: 1959 Bachelor of Arts (English), St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish: 1963 Master of Arts (Medieval English) Fordham University: 1965 Course Work towards Ph.D., University of Ottawa: 1969-71 i ABSTRACT This study examines the satyr convention in rela­ tion to Marston's dramatic development. The understanding of this convention is arrived at through an examination of a special character type in Marston's plays who functions as a critic and satirist. In all of Marston's plays this satirist appears to have a split personality. He is either an indignant righteous scourge of vice or a perverse voyeur who takes ghoulish delight in dwelling on the very evil he scourges. In Histrio-Mastix, by presenting the satirist as a hypocrite, Marston utilizes this duality in the simplest way possible. In subsequent plays, however, the duality of the satirist becomes the basis for the development of a com­ plex character who synthesizes the two extreme moral positions ever present in Marston's works, positions that view man's nature as being either exclusively angelic or exclusively bestial . Jacke Drum was Marston's first attempt to overcome certain practical problems that arose from the satirist's duality. Marston continues to experiment with the dramatic potential inherent in this conventional type in Antonio and Mellida. And in his next play, What You Will, Marston suc­ cessfully presents the satirist in a dramatic context in ii which he contributes to the atmosphere of decadence. In the second part of Antonio and Mellida, Antonio's Revenge, the revengers' fascination with attacking evil taints them as it taints all satirists - In short, the convention plays an important part in censuring the blood code. The Malcontent marks a new stage in Marston's use of the convention. By expressing the odious side of his personality in terms of a disguise, Marston uses the sati­ rist to present a poetic vision that was more positive and optimistic than was previously possible. In The Dutch Courtezan and The Fawn, Marston continues to use the dis­ guise element in a similar manner with the result that the satirist finally arrives at a more balanced view of man's bestial and angelic nature. In Sophonisba, Marston's last complete play, no one character can be seen as a satirist inasmuch as the single-minded characters are very one-sided. Yet the in­ fluence of the convention is present. The protagonists represent in isolation the two faces of this conventional type. An awareness of this separation of the two faces of the satirist is central to an understanding of Marston's conception of tragedy. Hi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the following people for their contribution to my dissertation: My director, Dr. Richard N. Pollard, for chis in­ sightful, critical observations and his personal interest and encouragement; Dr. Hazel (Batzer) Pollard for her initial advice on the direction of the work and for suggestions on matters of form; Mr. Joseph Lyons, whose discussions on the synthesis of opposing moral viewpoints clarified my thinking on Sophonisba; Mrs. Beverly Maclsaac, for her patience, compe­ tence, and professional attitude while typing this dis­ sertation . iv INTRODUCTION This dissertation is concerned with a conventional character type and its relationship to the overall structure and development of the plays of John Marston. It is clearly recognizable as a type with certain characteristic features. A general description of the type and his role in the play would be as follows: he is frequently the protagonist; if he is not the central figure, he nevertheless manages to manipu­ late a large number of persons in the play and usually they are manipulated so that they become aware of their own stupidity- The personality of this type is very often complex. The type is a self-righteous railer and is constantly attack­ ing specific and general vices in a language that is charac­ teristically violent and forceful. He sees himself as a scourge of villainy and uses metaphors that describe his self-appointed task in terms of a whipper. He wants to rid the world of cor­ ruption, but he tells us little of the joys of the new kind of society that would apparently exist if everyone were purged of his vileness. His motivation as a scourge is not always clear, but there is never any question about the compulsive nature of his urge to reform. But) paradoxically, this type exhibits simultaneously another side of his personality which is not 2 always so obvious but nevertheless is invariably present. He is fascinated with the very vice that he attacks and in most cases the vice attacked is lust. He dwells on his de­ scription of perversity. He delights in bearing to a lover the ill tidings that his or her beloved has been unfaithful/ he relishes describing at length the details of adultery or for­ nication to the cuckold. When this dark side of his nature comes to the fore it is usually easy to discern that he is motivated by envy. Some­ times he acknowledges this envy within himself, and at other times, although not acknowledged as such, his envy takes the form of bitter disillusionment. In short, he is tainted by the very vice he scourges. This type is not entirely peculiar to Marston, although he employs it more frequently and more uniquely than any other dramatist. Moreover, it was used in formal verse satire before the ban in 1599 and was later (prob-s- ably as a result of the ban) adapted so that the impulse to satire could find outlet in drama. The transfer of this con­ vention —— called a convention in that it is a consistent re­ curring type — from formal verse satire to drama was the main problem that Marston had to overcome. The various dramatic innovations and devices used to overcome this problem will be one of the central concerns of this dissertation. I will also attempt to show that the convention becomes a device that is the matrix for Marston's world view and, from a more practical perspective,,it determines the dramatic movement in his plays. 3 From the outset, the extent of my debt to and depen­ dence on two particular works should be clearly acknowledged. Alvin Kernan's book, The Cankered Muse, and his dissertation, "John Marston's Concept and Use of Satire, Formal and Dramatic," are the works that provide the context for my examination of Marston's plays. They are the only studies parallel to mine. However, my dissertation differs very significantly in focus and approach, and, as a result, my interpretation of seven of the nine plays leads to different conclusions. The other two, Histrio-Mastix and The Malcontent, while more directly depen­ dent on Kernan's ideas, differ in emphasis. In The Cankered Muse, which is an expansion and fur­ ther development of his dissertation, Kernan posits a critical theory that . originally derived from an attempt to un­ derstand one part of English Renaissance satire, the plays of John Marston. This in turn led on­ to an examination of the Elizabethan conven­ tions and theories of nondramatic satire. For Kernan, the character type described above is a convention that naturally grows out of the satiric genre. The scourge of villainy with his dual personality is a persona, a literary device used by many satirists from classical times to the pres­ ent, and it is a mistake to equate the character with the 1 Alvin Kernan, The Cankered Muse: Satire of the English Re­ naissance (New Haven: 1959). 2'Alvin Kernan, "John Marston's Concept and Use of Satire, Formal and Dramatic" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Yale Univer­ sity, 1954). 3 • • Kernan, The Cankered Muse, p. vn. 4 author; it is a persona in its own right. This persona manifests itself in two ways: there is a public face and a private face.
Recommended publications
  • “What Are Marines For?” the United States Marine Corps
    “WHAT ARE MARINES FOR?” THE UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS IN THE CIVIL WAR ERA A Dissertation by MICHAEL EDWARD KRIVDO Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY May 2011 Major Subject: History “What Are Marines For?” The United States Marine Corps in the Civil War Era Copyright 2011 Michael Edward Krivdo “WHAT ARE MARINES FOR?” THE UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS IN THE CIVIL WAR ERA A Dissertation by MICHAEL EDWARD KRIVDO Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved by: Chair of Committee, Joseph G. Dawson, III Committee Members, R. J. Q. Adams James C. Bradford Peter J. Hugill David Vaught Head of Department, Walter L. Buenger May 2011 Major Subject: History iii ABSTRACT “What Are Marines For?” The United States Marine Corps in the Civil War Era. (May 2011) Michael E. Krivdo, B.A., Texas A&M University; M.A., Texas A&M University Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Joseph G. Dawson, III This dissertation provides analysis on several areas of study related to the history of the United States Marine Corps in the Civil War Era. One element scrutinizes the efforts of Commandant Archibald Henderson to transform the Corps into a more nimble and professional organization. Henderson's initiatives are placed within the framework of the several fundamental changes that the U.S. Navy was undergoing as it worked to experiment with, acquire, and incorporate new naval technologies into its own operational concept.
    [Show full text]
  • A Chilling Look Back at Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's
    Jeph Loeb Sale and Tim at A back chilling look Batman and Scarecrow TM & © DC Comics. All Rights Reserved. 0 9 No.60 Oct. 201 2 $ 8 . 9 5 1 82658 27762 8 COMiCs HALLOWEEN HEROES AND VILLAINS: • SOLOMON GRUNDY • MAN-WOLF • LORD PUMPKIN • and RUTLAND, VERMONT’s Halloween Parade , bROnzE AGE AnD bEYOnD ’ s SCARECROW i . Volume 1, Number 60 October 2012 Comics’ Bronze Age and Beyond! The Retro Comics Experience! EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michael Eury PUBLISHER John Morrow DESIGNER Rich J. Fowlks COVER ARTIST Tim Sale COVER COLORIST Glenn Whitmore COVER DESIGNER Michael Kronenberg PROOFREADER Rob Smentek SPECIAL THANKS Scott Andrews Tony Isabella Frank Balkin David Anthony Kraft Mike W. Barr Josh Kushins BACK SEAT DRIVER: Editorial by Michael Eury . .2 Bat-Blog Aaron Lopresti FLASHBACK: Looking Back at Batman: The Long Halloween . .3 Al Bradford Robert Menzies Tim Sale and Greg Wright recall working with Jeph Loeb on this landmark series Jarrod Buttery Dennis O’Neil INTERVIEW: It’s a Matter of Color: with Gregory Wright . .14 Dewey Cassell James Robinson The celebrated color artist (and writer and editor) discusses his interpretations of Tim Sale’s art Nicholas Connor Jerry Robinson Estate Gerry Conway Patrick Robinson BRING ON THE BAD GUYS: The Scarecrow . .19 Bob Cosgrove Rootology The history of one of Batman’s oldest foes, with comments from Barr, Davis, Friedrich, Grant, Jonathan Crane Brian Sagar and O’Neil, plus Golden Age great Jerry Robinson in one of his last interviews Dan Danko Tim Sale FLASHBACK: Marvel Comics’ Scarecrow . .31 Alan Davis Bill Schelly Yep, there was another Scarecrow in comics—an anti-hero with a patchy career at Marvel DC Comics John Schwirian PRINCE STREET NEWS: A Visit to the (Great) Pumpkin Patch .
    [Show full text]
  • Book Review: TF Wharton (Ed). the Drama of John Marston. Cambridge
    112 Book Reviews unfair to criticize a researcher too harshly for a following a pre-existing set of selection criteria. At the same time it is reasonable to expect that a declared set of criteria should be rigorously maintained, and that the intellectual basis of those criteria should be clearly stated and take some account of the historical reality of the period under examination. The ambitious task undertaken by the REED project is to be applauded, and it is to be regretted that the present volume falls somewhat short of the standards set by the project as a whole. david hickman T.F. Wharton (ed). The Drama of John Marston: Critical Re-Visions. Cam- bridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Pp xiii, 233. For a dramatist with at least three canonically important works (The Dutch Courtesan, The Malcontent, and Antonio’s Revenge) contemporary critics have been especially chary of addressing John Marston’s plays. Of those three works, one (Antonio’s Revenge) finds general mention only as a spectacularized and stylized foil to Hamlet.1 Indeed, only a single work – The Dutch Courtesan – today receives attention approaching any degree of regularity: Susan Baker, Donna Hamilton, and Jean Howard have each written outstanding material- ist/feminist appraisals.2 This continuing paucity of critical regard is especially surprising given the astonishing generic range and inventiveness of Marston’s plays as well as their incisive representations of a particularly volatile period in early modern culture. Marston collaborated brilliantly with some of the most distinguished dramatists of the period (Ben Jonson and George Chapman on Eastward Ho!; John Webster on additions to The Malcontent) and also mis- chievously burlesqued the genres they themselves defined.
    [Show full text]
  • Playwright and Minister
    PLAYWRIGHT AND MAN OF GOD: RELIGION AND CONVENTION IN THE COMIC PLAYS OF JOHN MARSTON by Blagomir Georgiev Blagoev A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of English University of Toronto © Copyright by Blagomir Georgiev Blagoev (2010) PLAYWRIGHT AND MAN OF GOD: RELIGION AND CONVENTION IN THE COMIC PLAYS OF JOHN MARSTON Blagomir Georgiev Blagoev Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of English University of Toronto 2010 ABSTRACT John Marston’s literary legacy has inevitably existed in the larger-than-life shadows of his great contemporaries William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson. In the last two centuries, his works were hardly taken on their own terms but were perceived instead in overt or implicit comparison to Shakespeare’s or Jonson’s. As a result, Marston’s plays acquired the lasting but unfair image of haphazard concoctions whose cheap sensationalism and personal satire often got them in trouble with the authorities. This was the case until recently, especially with Marston’s comic drama. Following revisionist trends, this study sets out to restore some perspective: it offers a fresh reading of Marston’s comic plays and collaborations—Antonio and Mellida, What You Will, Jack Drum’s Entertainment, The Dutch Courtesan, The Malcontent, Parasitaster, Eastward Ho, and Histrio-Mastix—by pursuing a more nuanced contextualization with regard to religious context and archival evidence. The first central contention here is that instead of undermining political and religious authority, Marston’s comic drama can demonstrate consistent conformist and conservative affinities, which imply a seriously considered agenda. This study’s second main point is that the perceived failures of Marston’s comic plays—such as tragic ii elements, basic characterization, and sudden final reversals—can be plausibly read as deliberate effects, designed with this agenda in mind.
    [Show full text]
  • MARSTON (HENRY and FAMILY) PAPERS Mss
    See also UPA Microfilm: MF 5735, Series B, Reel 13 MF 6061, Series B, Part 2, Reel 14 MARSTON (HENRY AND FAMILY) PAPERS Mss. 624 Inventory Compiled by Tara Zachary 1997 Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections Special Collections, Hill Memorial Library Louisiana State University Libraries Baton Rouge, Louisiana Revised 2009, 2020 MARSTON (HENRY AND FAMILY) PAPERS Mss. 624 1818-1938 LSU LIBRARIES SPECIAL COLLECTIONS CONTENTS OF INVENTORY SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................... 3 BIOGRAPHICAL/HISTORICAL NOTE ...................................................................................... 4 SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE ................................................................................................... 6 BOX DESCRIPTIONS ................................................................................................................... 8 DIARY DESCRIPTIONS ............................................................................................................. 11 INDEX TERMS ............................................................................................................................ 12 CONTAINER LIST ...................................................................................................................... 14 Use of Manuscript Materials. If you wish to examine items in the manuscript group, please place a request via the Special Collections Request System. Consult the Container List for
    [Show full text]
  • Spring 2008 Gustavus Quarterly
    01 Spring 08 masters.3:Winter 03-04 MASTERS.1 2/12/08 9:57 AM Page 1 THE GustavusGustavus Adolphus College Spring 2008 QUARTERLY THE GUSTAVUS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA IN CHINA ■ “Building Bridges” Diversity Conference ■ Alumni Fund Report ■ Sports Camps 01 Spring 08 masters.3:Winter 03-04 MASTERS.1 2/12/08 12:56 PM Page 2 G THE GUSTAVUS QUARTERLY Spring 2008 • Vol. LXIV, No. 2 Managing Editor Steven L. Waldhauser ’70 [email protected] Alumni Editors Randall M. Stuckey ’83 [email protected] Barbara Larson Taylor ’93 [email protected] Design Sharon Stevenson [email protected] Contributing Writers Kari Clark ’91, Laurie Dietrich’80, Bruce Gray ’61, Tim Kennedy ’82, Barb Larson Taylor ’93, Donald Myers ’83, Tony Pasiak, Sharon Stevenson, Matt Thomas ’00 Contributing Photographers Anders Björling ’58, Brian Fowler, Sharon Stevenson, Stacia Vogel, Stan Waldhauser ’71 Articles and opinions presented in this magazine do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors or official policies of the College or its board of trustees. The Gustavus Quarterly (USPS 227-580) is published four times annually, in February, May, August, and November, by Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, Minn. Periodicals postage is paid at St. Peter, MN 56082, and additional mailing offices. It is mailed free of charge to alumni and friends of the College. Circulation is approximately 35,000. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Gustavus Quarterly, Office of Alumni Relations, Gustavus Adolphus College, 800 W. College Ave., St. Peter, MN 56082-1498. St. Peter, Minnesota 507-933-8000 ■ gustavus.edu Chair, Board of Trustees James H.
    [Show full text]
  • Identity, Disguise and Satire in Three
    IDENTITY, DISGUISE AND SATIRE IN THREE COMEDIES OF JOHN MARSTON by BARRY MALCOLM PEGG B.A., University of Keele, 1963 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in the Department of English We accept this thesis as conforming to the required, standard THE UNIVERSITY ,OF BB.2T.I SH COLUMBIA July, 1969 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and Study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the Head of my Department or by his representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my r written permission. Department The University of British Columbia Vancouver 8, Canada ABSTRACT This thesis investigates the use of the conventions of disguise and deception in three comedies of John Marston (1576-1634)—What You Will. The Malcontent. and The Dutch Courtesan—in order to examine his handling of a convention for thematic purposes. The frequency of disguise in the theatre of the period may be explained by its appeal on more than one level. Its direct visual display of theatrical ingenuity was an immediate source of compelling interest for all spectators, whether in comedy or tragedy. On a more sophisticated level, the metaphysical implications of the discrepancy between ap• pearance and reality were explored thematically by the more thoughtful of the public-theatre playwrights, as well as the satiric playwrights of the private theatres, both of course making full use of the purely theatrical possibilities.
    [Show full text]
  • William Marston, Apprentice; and Eastward Ho!
    Early Theatre 19.2 (2016), 81–100 http://dx.doi.org/10.12745/et.19.2.2678 Charles Cathcart Edward Greene, Goldsmith; William Marston, Apprentice; and Eastward Ho! This essay presents new information about the family of John Marston the dramatist. I review this material in relation to the work of Suzanne Gossett and W. David Kay, the two editors of Eastward Ho! for The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Ben Jonson. My article explores how our knowledge of a writer’s personal relation- ships may affect our understanding of that writer’s contribution to a collaborative enterprise. In the summer of 1605 three members of the Marston family each experienced a significant event. All were in their twenties. Thomas Marston, eldest son and heir of William Marston of Middleton in Shropshire, was admitted to the Middle Temple. His brother William became free of the Goldsmiths Company. And their cousin John ran into serious trouble as a consequence of his involvement in writing Eastward Ho! In this essay I bring forward new information about the family of John Mar- ston the dramatist and connect this evidence with biographical findings that have attracted little attention since the time of R.E. Brettle’s thesis in 1927 or that of the publication of the Middle Temple records some twenty years previ- ously.1 I will seek to relate this material to a significant publishing exercise of much more recent times: the work of the two editors of Eastward Ho! for The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Ben Jonson, Suzanne Gossett and W.
    [Show full text]
  • What Did John Marston Know About Shakespeare?
    i&notD about ^Ij^feegpeare? Patrick ^uckrtbge John Marston has been a shadowy but persistent presence in heterodox discussions ofthe Shakespeare autiiorship since the nineteenth century. It is hardly surprising that he should have something to offer to an investi­ gation of concealed Uterary and theafrical identities in London in the 1590s: he was living and working in the Inns of Court and around the theattes from about 1594, when he matticulated from Brasenose College, Oxford University, until 1606, when he left the Middle Temple. A cursory glance at Marston's poems and plays reveals an oddly persistent preoccupation with that popular but enigmatic body of work coming to be known as 'Shakespeare' through the 1590s, the most striking being The Metamorphosis ofPigmalion 's Image, his parody/pastiche ofVenus and Ado­ nis, and the links and parallels in character, situation and dialogue between Hamlet and Antonio's Revenge. Other tum-of-the-century plays of Marston' s —Antonio and Mellida, What You Will, The Dutch Courtesan, and The Malcontent—appear to exhibit a more generally ironic relationship to certain Shakespearean plays, such as Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing, and Measure for Measure. As the author of two volumes of verse satires, Marston took a 'profes­ sional' interest in duplicity, hypocrisy, and imposture, ttaditional satiric targets that he would have seen as notably instantiated in the use of 'front-men' or 'stooges' for aristocratic writers. There are a few passages in the satires where he could be referring to such a practice: the allusion to those who ..
    [Show full text]
  • Top Left-Hand Corner
    Department of English ”Art Made Tongue-tied By Authority”? The Shakespeare Authorship Question Lars Lindholm Bachelor Degree Project Literature VT 2012 Supervisor: Marion Helfer Wajngot Abstract The essay presents the scholarly controversy over the correct attribution of the works by “Shakespeare”. The main alternative author is Edward de Vere, 17th earl of Oxford. 16th century conventions allowed noblemen to write poetry or drama only for private circulation. To appear in print, such works had to be anonymous or under pseudonym. Overtly writing for public theatre, a profitable business, would have been a degrading conduct. Oxford‟s contemporary fame as an author is little matched by known works. Great gaps in relevant sources indicate that documents concerning not only his person and authorship but also the life of Shakspere from Stratford, the alleged author, have been deliberately eliminated in order to transfer the authorship, for which the political authority of the Elizabethan and Jacobean autocratic society had motive and resources enough. A restored identity would imply radical redating of plays and poems. To what extent literature is autobiographical, or was in that age, and whether restoring a lost identity from written works is legitimate at all, are basic issues of the debate, always implying tradition without real proof versus circumstantial evidence. As such arguments are incompatible, both sides have incessantly missed their targets. The historical conditions for the sequence of events that created the fiction, and its main steps, are related. Oxford will be in focus, since most old and new evidence for making a case has reference to him. The views of the two parties on different points are presented by continual quoting from representative recent works by Shakespeare scholars, where the often scornful tone of the debate still echoes.
    [Show full text]
  • How the New Atheists Are Reminding the Humanities of Their Place and Purpose in Society
    University of Louisville ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository Electronic Theses and Dissertations 12-2018 The emperor's new clothes: how the new atheists are reminding the humanities of their place and purpose in society. David Ira Buckner University of Louisville Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.library.louisville.edu/etd Part of the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Buckner, David Ira, "The emperor's new clothes: how the new atheists are reminding the humanities of their place and purpose in society." (2018). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 3112. https://doi.org/10.18297/etd/3112 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository. This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has retained all other copyrights. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES: HOW THE NEW ATHEISTS ARE REMINDING THE HUMANITIES OF THEIR PLACE AND PURPOSE IN SOCIETY By David Ira Buckner B.S., East Tennessee State University, 2006 M.A., East Tennessee State University, 2008 A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of the University of Louisville In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
    [Show full text]
  • The Private Theaters in Crisis: Strategies at Blackfriars and Paul’S, 1606–07
    ABSTRACT Title of Document: THE PRIVATE THEATERS IN CRISIS: STRATEGIES AT BLACKFRIARS AND PAUL’S, 1606–07 Christopher Bryan Love, Ph.D., 2006 Directed By: Professor Theodore B. Leinwand, Department of English This study addresses the ways in which the managers and principal playwrights at second Paul’s and second Blackfriars approached opportunities in the tumultuous 1606–07 period, when the two troupes were affected by extended plague closures and threatened by the authorities because of the Blackfriars’ performance of offensive satires. I begin by demonstrating that Paul’s and Blackfriars did not neatly conform to the social and literary categories or commercial models typically employed by scholars. Instead, they were collaborative institutions that readily adapted to different circumstances and situations. Their small size, different schedules, and different economics gave them a flexibility generally unavailable to the larger, more thoroughly commercial adult companies. Each chapter explores a strategy used by the companies and their playwrights to negotiate a tumultuous theatrical market. The first chapter discusses the mercenary methods employed by the private children’s theaters. Occasionally, plays or play topics were commissioned by playgoers, and some performances at Paul’s and Blackfriars may even have been “private” in the sense of closed performances for exclusive audiences. In this context, I discuss Francis Beaumont’s The Knight of the Burning Pestle (Blackfriars, 1607), in which Beaumont uses the boorish citizens George and Nell to lay open the private theaters’ mercenary methods and emphasize sophisticated playgoers’ stake in the Blackfriars theater. The second chapter discusses the ways private-theater playwrights used intertextuality to entertain the better sort of playgoers, especially those who might buy quartos of plays.
    [Show full text]