Martyrs and Players in Early Modern England

Tragedy, Religion and Violence on Stage

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Theatre, Performing Arts, Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism
Cover of the book Martyrs and Players in Early Modern England by David K. Anderson, Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: David K. Anderson ISBN: 9781317100140
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: May 13, 2016
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author: David K. Anderson
ISBN: 9781317100140
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: May 13, 2016
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

Focusing on Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare, John Webster and John Milton, Martyrs and Players in Early Modern England argues that the English tragedians reflected an unease within the culture to acts of religious violence. David Anderson explores a link between the unstable emotional response of society to religious executions in the Tudor-Stuart period, and the revival of tragic drama as a major cultural form for the first time since classical antiquity. Placing John Foxe at the center of his historical argument, Anderson argues that Foxe’s Book of Martyrs exerted a profound effect on the social conscience of English Protestantism in his own time and for the next century. While scholars have in recent years discussed the impact of Foxe and the martyrs on the period’s literature, this book is the first to examine how these most vivid symbols of Reformation-era violence influenced the makers of tragedy. As the persecuting and the persecuted churches collided over the martyr’s body, Anderson posits, stress fractures ran through the culture and into the playhouse; in their depictions of violence, the early modern tragedians focused on the ethical confrontation between collective power and the individual sufferer. Martyrs and Players in Early Modern England sheds new light on the particular emotional energy of Tudor-Stuart tragedy, and helps explain why the genre reemerged at this time.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Focusing on Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare, John Webster and John Milton, Martyrs and Players in Early Modern England argues that the English tragedians reflected an unease within the culture to acts of religious violence. David Anderson explores a link between the unstable emotional response of society to religious executions in the Tudor-Stuart period, and the revival of tragic drama as a major cultural form for the first time since classical antiquity. Placing John Foxe at the center of his historical argument, Anderson argues that Foxe’s Book of Martyrs exerted a profound effect on the social conscience of English Protestantism in his own time and for the next century. While scholars have in recent years discussed the impact of Foxe and the martyrs on the period’s literature, this book is the first to examine how these most vivid symbols of Reformation-era violence influenced the makers of tragedy. As the persecuting and the persecuted churches collided over the martyr’s body, Anderson posits, stress fractures ran through the culture and into the playhouse; in their depictions of violence, the early modern tragedians focused on the ethical confrontation between collective power and the individual sufferer. Martyrs and Players in Early Modern England sheds new light on the particular emotional energy of Tudor-Stuart tragedy, and helps explain why the genre reemerged at this time.

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book The Cognitive Neuroscience of Development by David K. Anderson
Cover of the book Mainstreaming Human Security in Peace Operations and Crisis Management by David K. Anderson
Cover of the book The Craft of Contemporary Commercial Music by David K. Anderson
Cover of the book Sett Scheme Trop Africa Ils 70 by David K. Anderson
Cover of the book Imagination for Inclusion by David K. Anderson
Cover of the book The Historical Phonology of Vowel Length (RLE Linguistics C: Applied Linguistics) by David K. Anderson
Cover of the book The Changing Pattern of Employment by David K. Anderson
Cover of the book Verbal Hygiene by David K. Anderson
Cover of the book Conceptual Systems by David K. Anderson
Cover of the book Core-periphery Relations in the European Union by David K. Anderson
Cover of the book The Politics and Complexities of Crisis Management in Ukraine by David K. Anderson
Cover of the book Femme by David K. Anderson
Cover of the book Peace Regime Building on the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asian Security Cooperation by David K. Anderson
Cover of the book The Ashgate Research Companion to The Sidneys, 1500–1700 by David K. Anderson
Cover of the book Constraints and Compromises by David K. Anderson
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy