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Poison and Revenge in Seventeenth Century English Drama "Revenge Should Have No Bounds": Poison and Revenge in Seventeenth Century English Drama The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Woodring, Catherine. 2015. "Revenge Should Have No Bounds": Poison and Revenge in Seventeenth Century English Drama. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:17463987 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA “Revenge should have no bounds”: Poison and Revenge in Seventeenth Century English Drama A dissertation presented by Catherine L. Reedy Woodring to The Department of English in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the subject of English Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts May 2015 © 2015 – Catherine L. Reedy Woodring All rights reserved. Professor Stephen Greenblatt Catherine L. Reedy Woodring “Revenge should have no bounds”: Poison and Revenge in Seventeenth Century English Drama Abstract The revenge- and poison- filled tragedies of seventeenth century England astound audiences with their language of contagion and disease. Understanding poison as the force behind epidemic disease, this dissertation considers the often-overlooked connections between stage revenge and poison. Poison was not only a material substance bought from a foreign market. It was the subject of countless revisions and debates in early modern England. Above all, writers argued about poison’s role in the most harrowing epidemic disease of the period, the pestilence, as both the cause and possible cure of this seemingly contagious disease. As such a transformative and ambivalent power, poison was called upon precisely as stage revengers turned to vengeance, as revenge was, at its core, concerned with the breaking and making of boundaries. As such, playwrights turned to both literal and metaphorical poisons in their plays of vengeance to stage the excesses of contagion. I contend that all of the plays under consideration in my dissertation uniquely represent the bounded alongside the boundless. In the process, they dramatize the surprising paradoxes of revenge. By staging, often uneasily, the potential for revenge to “have no bounds,” dramatists more radically explored the perverse appeal and power of their own art. iii Table of Contents List of Figures..……………………………………………………………………………v Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………….vi Introduction………………………………………………………………………………..1 Contagion, Poison, and Revenge in Early Modern English Drama Chapter One……………………………………………………………………………...30 “Inwardly he chawed his own maw”: Internal Poisons in Tragedies of Revenge Chapter Two……………………………………………………………………………...68 "A pestilent congregation of vapors": Sticky Air and Painted Tyrants in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet Chapter Three…………………………………………………………………………...132 “To whom the justice of revenge belongs”: The Order of Divine Revenge in Cyril Tourneur’s The Atheist’s Tragedy Chapter Four……………………………………………………………………………184 “Sweetmeats which rot the eater”: Pleasure and Revenge in John Webster’s The White Devil Chapter Five…………………………………………………………………………….233 “I shall defile you”: Polluted Blood in Thomas Middleton’s and William Rowley’s The Changeling Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………282 iv List of Figures 1. “A Poison Tree,” William Blake, Songs of Experience (1794). 2. The Ghost of Hamlet, John Austin, William Shakespeare: Hamlet (1922). 3. Hamlet’s Melancholy, John Austin, William Shakespeare: Hamlet (1922). 4. Envy. Jacob de Backer, The Seven Deadly Sins, Museo di Capodimonte, Naples (1570- 1575). 5. Lord Have Mercy Upon Us, Anonymous, London (1636). 6. Webster tortures a mouse, Shakespeare in Love (1999). 7. Alsemero in Reynolds’s Triumphs of God (London, 1704). v Acknowledgements I first and foremost turn to my advisors – Stephen Greenblatt, Marc Shell, and Katharine Park – who managed to trudge through the seventy-five page chapter drafts and seemingly unending footnotes of my digressive dissertation. Though I struggled to take control over the many ideas that were strung together through my flights of fancy, their patient guidance and general enthusiasm for the topic helped steer me in the right direction. All three of my advisors have helped me harness the energies of my scholarly explorations without losing in the process a fundamental sense of excitement and adventure. Stephen Greenblatt has profoundly impacted my scholarship while at Harvard. His genuine interest in my ideas extended not only to my dissertation topic, but also to my wackier presentations and classroom comments in my early days as a graduate student. Throughout this project, he has kept me in touch with the bigger-picture questions of scholarship that are too easy forgotten when mired in the details of graduate level research. Yet, he has also managed to dive into these very details with me, going through my chapter drafts at a sentence-by-sentence, word-by-word level. Without his guidance and support, this project would not have come together. Marc Shell has been a source of support from my first to last semester in graduate school. His intellectual generosity is matched with a capaciousness and breadth of knowledge that is inspiring to be around. Thanks to his optimism and creativity, I felt free to explore my topic from a variety of angles. I owe Katharine Park the very topic of my dissertation. While studying for my field’s exam, I came across a strange kind of poisoning in one of the more obscure vi “domestic tragedies” of the period. Thinking I would delve into the history of optics and vision, I eagerly met with Katy, who immediately recognized contagion in my descriptions of the “poison motif” in revenge plays. From there on out, she guided me through some of the essential primary and secondary texts of early modern English medicine. Without her consistent care and helpful advice, this dissertation would not have its central core. I also owe thanks to the teachers throughout my many years of school, all of whom helped cultivate my intellectual curiosity and passion. From Woodlands Academy, I thank especially Mlle. Parisoe, Dr. Scheiber, the late Mrs. Benson, Mrs. Crook, and Dr. Zareb. While at Bates College, I was fortunate to work with Professor Rob Farnsworth, whose talent was only surpassed by his kindness. As early as my junior year at Bates, Professor Sanford Freedman inadvertently introduced me to my dissertation topic. During his short term class on “Shakespeare in the Theater,” we saw a performance in London of Middleton’s Women Beware Women. The mixed audience response to the stylized gore, along with the sudden explosion of violence in the end of this strange, Jacobean play would eventually morph into the critical concerns of my dissertation. On a larger level, my conversations with Sanford on literature, the field, art, and life were part of what motivated me to go to graduate school in the first place. I turn to my mentor, the teacher who has most impacted my intellectual growth. Professor John Kelsey will forever influence the kind of scholar – and human – I strive to become. Working in the lab as his advisee was the greatest choice I made while at Bates. John’s compassion, fairness, and attention to detail taught me some of my most crucially- needed organizational skills. The high standard he set for students in his notoriously vii challenging classes brought out the best in people. Most importantly, though, both he and his wife Sally offered students a level of warmth and care typically only reserved for one’s children. I owe all my undergraduate successes to John’s guidance and encouragement. My peers while at Harvard have likewise given me support and helpful feedback. I especially thank Chris Barrett and Seth Herbst, for their combinations of equal parts passion and kindness. Working with Seth as the co-leader of the Renaissance Colloquium was the best experience I had in as a graduate student in the English department. Our colloquium regulars brightened my week – Suzanne Smith, Jamey Graham, Craig Plunges, Rob Fox, Maria Devlin, Rhema Hokama, Misha Teramura, David Nee, and Liz Weckhurst. I thank the professors who showed me incredible patience in my first attempts at teaching: Professors Helen Vendler, Marjorie Garber, Gordon Teskey, Matthew Kaiser, and Joyce Van Dyke, all of whom also taught me a great deal in seminars and elsewhere. Conversations with Jin Zhang, Meg Zuehl, and Allison Bray about my graduate work always managed to make me fall in love with my topic all over again. Ali Marks and Lisa Bonjour have supported me throughout the years, and our many conversations about linguistics opened up new avenues of thought in my mind. Discussions with Ian Asbjørnsen and Ryan Woodring about film and art, respectively, have reminded me of the other, and arguably more interesting, side of criticism: the creative process underlying these cultural productions. Austin Tichenor and Dee Ryan offered enthusiasm and interest in my own work, while at the same time inspiring me with their creative projects and performances. The support system of the “Chicago crew” – Marcia Blumenthal, viii Lucy and Jeff Colman, and above all Gam Gam, the “Geez,” and Uncle Teddy – enabled this project to come together. Many thanks to Waverly’s incredible babysitters, and friends: Amanda Macavoy and Harland Dahl for their make-shift, last minute day care of the final weeks of this dissertation, and Emerald and Jacqueline Dawson, for their help and friendship. Finally, I turn to my incredible family. Kathy and Bill Woodring have supported me through the craziest hours of my graduate work. They have spent countless hours taking care of the littlest member of our family. Their love and support is unconditional and has made Doylestown my second home. My parents and step-parent have all individually taught me the importance of creativity and passion throughout the years.
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