Vision and Audience in Medieval Drama: A Study of the Castle of Perseverance

ISBN-13: 9781137465597 / Angielski / Twarda / 2015 / 228 str.

Andrea Louise Young

Opis

The earliest known morality play in the English language, The Castle of Perseverance depicted the culture of medieval East Anglia, a region once known for its production of artistic objects, particularly textiles. Drawing on an audience-experience approach, this book re-evaluates the famed play, arguing that vision - as a physical, moral, and cognitive process - was the organizing principle that informed the play's staging, structure, and narrative. As Young shows, the visual culture of East Anglia was central to the play's moral and dramatic thrust and ultimately the battle at the center of the play. Taking into account stage directions, staging diagrams, references to other medieval dramas, and medieval visual theories, Vision and Audience in Medieval Drama: A Study of The Castle of Perseverance forges a fresh perspective on how scholars will perceive the complicated yet vital relationship between vision and audience.

Recenzje

"While recovering the experiences of individual spectators from this period is virtually impossible, Young's book draws on a wide range of evidence - the play text itself, the manuscript's staging diagram, modern 'historical' performances and the reviews they attracted, modern critical theory, practical experimentation, medieval art, and texts on optics and the theology of vision - to construct the dynamic of spectatorship which the play exploits. This is an imaginative and sustained piece of analysis, underpinned by extensive reading." - John J McGavin, Professor of English, University of Southampton, UK

O autorze

Andrea Young is Lecturer at the University of Liverpool Continuing Education program.