The Rhetoric of the Saints in Middle English BibIical Drama by Chester N. Scoville A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of English University of Toronto O Copyright by Chester N. Scoville (2000) National Library Bibiiotheque nationale l*l ,,na& du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395, rwW~gtm OttawaON KlAûîU4 OtÈewaûN K1AW canada canada The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant à la National Library of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sel1 reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/nlm, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fiom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otheMrise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. Abstract of Thesis for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2000 Department of English, University of Toronto The Rhetoric of the Saints in Middle English Biblical Dnma by Chester N. Scovilie Much past criticism of character in Middle English drarna has fallen into one of two rougtily defined positions: either that early drama was to be valued as an example of burgeoning realism as dernonstrated by its villains and rascals, or that it was didactic and stylized, meant primarily to teach doctrine to the faithfùl. This thesis argues, however, that the pnmary purpose of Middle English biblical plays was neither of these. This thesis is both an argument for and a demonstration of the proposition that the saints in Middle English bibiical plays serve as rhetors whose task is to persuade the audience to see itself as a community of faith. Using concepts fiom classical and medieval rhetoric, and certain ideas fiom modem reader-response theory, this thesis explores the methods of characterïzation and persuasion used in portrayals of Thomas the apostle, Mary Magdalene, Joseph the foster-father of Christ, and Paul the apostle. This series of case studies shows that the authors of the plays, though aware of the morally arnbiguous nature of their dramatic and linguistic tools, nonetheless used al1 the means of persuasion at their disposai to create a compelling, interactive, and affective experience for their audiences, with the purpose of moving the audience to a position of sympathy and communion with the saints and with the god they serve. *. II Acknowledgements This thesis owes thanks to many people. Special thanks, however, go to the following, who have been especiaily kind and supportive over the years: The members of my cornmittee, Sandy Johnston, David Klausner, and Suzanne Akbari, The University of Toronto's faculty, especially JoAnna Dutka, Ruth Harvey, David Townsend, George Rigg, Michael Dixon, Brian Corman, and Roberta Frank, The PLS and associated nff-raff. especially Linda Philiïps, Erik Buchanan, Sara Lawson, Chris Warrilow, Christopher Moore, Michael Curtis, Karen Sawyer, Doug Hayes, and Laurelle LeVert, Al1 rny fnends who have helped me in tangible and intangible ways, especially Bill Sullivan, Mark Rosenthal, Ali Schmidl, Christine & Bi11 Vogel, and of course Starfinder Stanley, And most of all, my fiend, partner, and colleague, Kim Yates. Table of Contents Abstract Acknowledgements Chapter 1. Saints, Character, and Rhetonc: An Introduction Chapter 2. Thomas's Doubts and the Parameters of Rhetoric Chapter 3. Mary Magdalene, Ethos, Decorum, and the Conversion of Language Chapter 4. Joseph, Pathos, and the Audience's Participation in the Incarnation Chapter 5. The Conversion of Saint Paul and the Rhetonc of Sainthood Conclusion Works Consulted Chapter I Saints, Character, and Rhetonc: An Introduction Saints are among the most powefil characters in the vemacular drama of late medieval EngIand. Capable of stirring the audience to devotion, of exploring the most difficult aspects of the Christian faith, of being exemplars, expositors, and object lessons, the saints were among the subtlest and most effective rhetorical and drarnatic vehicles available to medieval playwrights. Long ignored or underestimated in the critical heritage of early drama, the saints are nonetheless easily among the most memorable characters to those fortunate enough to have seen medieval plays performed, whether one considers the cranky yet holy Joseph, the tortured Thomas, or the fiery Paul. This study is intended as a step towards redressing the balance by attempting to explain why and how the saints are as powerfûl as they are in performance. Saints have always been difficult to understand. They, more than any other kind of figure, partake both of the life of earthly people and of the life of heavenly bliss; the Communion of Saints rnay be said to exist both in the Church Militant and in the Church Tnumphant at once. Such a dud existence seems to have been at the hart of the cult of saints fiom the beginning. The "locdization of the holy" fiom the beginning of the cult allowed for both "the facts of distance and [...] the joys of proximity"' that were key to an incarnational understanding of the divine. In Dives and Palper, we find the following Peter Brown, The Cuit of the &infs: Its Rise and Ft~ttctiottwifhlt~ Latitt Christianity (London: SCM P, 198 1) 86-87. description of the problem: Mmagis stondinge in chirchis mai be considered in two wyses, ebir as bei representen pe state of seintis of whom bei ben ymagis as kilyuyden in bis lijf [...] or eUis pei mai be considerid as bei representen pe state of endeles blisse. [...] Nebeles in al such peinture an onest meen [...] is to be kept, for seyntis louyden an onest meen in al her lyuyng.' The question of how such an "onest meen" is to be found and kept is a panicular problem for a narrative fom like drama, in which the saints mua be played by real people. The audience must not be allowed to forget the saintly nature of the fiere before it if the play's devotional purpose is to be achieved; yet the human side of the saint is not merely accidental but crucial to the saint's very being. Lt may be said that al1 saints' legends are the story of Pauper's "onest meen," and that al1 portrayals of them must wrestle with a method for achieving it. Indeed, the problem that Pauper describes and its implications underlie the depiction of and response to saints in Middle English biblical drarna. This mdy does not attempt to reconstruct the lost tradition of saint plays that existed in England before the Reforrnation, though such a task needs to be done. What it wiU attempt is a close reading of four saintly characters--Thomas, May Magdalene, Joseph, and Paul-in some of their manifestations in Middle English biblicai drama, in an attempt to answer some specific questions: how, exactly, are they portrayed, by what rneans are they portrayed, what effect are they calculated to have upon an audience, and Dives oid Pmtper. Vol. 1, part 1, ed. Priscilla Heath Bamum. EETS o.S. 275 (Oxford: Odord UP,1976) 94. 3 how do they achieve such an effect? Underlying aii these questions is a more fundamental question: what kind of perspective is usefiil in fiaming these questions and answers to them? Answers to none of these questions are immediately obvious, but the questions themselves are unavoidable. in the Chester play of the Nativity, for example, the reader or audience member can sense a number of distinctions between the episodes of Visitation (Chester 7/49- 120)' and Joseph's Doubt (Chester 7/12 1 - 168). The register of the dialogue shifis fiom prayerfirl to coarse; the speakers shifi tiom female to male; the form shifis fiom dialogue to monologue; the central emotion shifis f'iom joy to gloom. An interpreter, noting al1 of these shifis, might be able to make severai deductions concerning the theological points being made. Yet such an interpreter would not be able to avoid the fact that, @ven the absence of a narrator, al1 of those points come fiom the interaction of the saintly characters on the stage, with each other and with the audience. Furthermore. it is not clear how those characters may have seemed to the audience, and how the theological points of the play do or do not interact with the characters and the dramatic form to affect the audience. When, seeking answers, one turns to the body of criticism on character and audience in medieval drama, one is struck by how much of it seems to share a cunous fascination with the study of characters who are evii, foolish, or otherwise "low." A 3 Throughout this study, citations of plays wili be included in the text, giving a short title, play number, and Iine number. AU citations of the Chester cycle refer to The Chester Mystery Cycle, ed. R.M. Lumiansky and David Mills. Vol. 1, Text, EETS, S.S. 3 (London: Oxford UP, 1974). Vol. 2, Comrnentary and Glossary, EETS, S.S. 9 (London: Oxford UP,1986). relatively early (and admittediy peripheral) exarnple of the phenornenon can be seen vividly in G. R. Owst's Literature and Pu@it in Medievol England- His observations about character in the drama, refldng the attitudes of those scholars who specialized in the field at the tirne, are ahost entirely given over to viiiains or at least to the vicious.