Stages of Evil: Occultism in Western Theater and DramaUniversity Press of Kentucky, 2005 M12 23 - 344 pages ÒThe evil that men doÓ has been chronicled for thousands of years on the European stage, and perhaps nowhere else is human fear of our own evil more detailed than in its personifications in theater. Early writers used theater to communicate human experiences and to display reverence for the gods governing daily life. Playwrights from Euripides onward sought inspiration from this interplay between the worldly and the occult, using human belief in the divine to govern charactersÕ actions within a dramatic arena. The constant adherence to the supernatural, despite changing religious ideologies over the centuries, testifies to a deep and continuing belief in the ability of a higher power to interfere in human life. Stages of Evil is the first book to examine the representation and relationship of evil and the occult from the prehistoric origins of drama through to the present day. Drawing on examples of magic, astronomy, demonology, possession, exorcism, fairies, vampires, witchcraft, hauntings, and voodoo, author Robert Lima explores how theater shaped American and European perceptions of the occult and how the dramatic works studied here reflect society back upon itself at different points in history. From representations of Dionysian rites in ancient Greece, to the Mouth of Hell in the Middle Ages, to the mystical cabalistic life of the Hasidic Jews, to the witchcraft and magic of the Elizabethan and Jacobean stage, Lima traces the recurrence of supernatural motifs in pivotal plays and performance works of the Western tradition. Considering numerous myths and cultural artifacts, such as the Òwild man,Ó he describes the evolution and continual representation of supernatural archetypes on the modern stage. He also discusses the sociohistorical implications of Christian and pagan representations of evil and the theatrical creativity that occultism has engendered. Delving into his own theatrical, literary, folkloric, and travel experiences to enhance his observations, Lima assays the complex world of occultism and examines diverse works of Western theater and drama. A unique and comprehensive bibliography of European and American plays concludes the study and facilitates further research into the realm of the social and literary impact of the occult. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 16
Page 3
... mystery , miracle , or morality play . Slowly , Europe created a new theater with written texts that grafted the sacred and the profane in what is called religious drama . The next development was of greater import . The spirit of ...
... mystery , miracle , or morality play . Slowly , Europe created a new theater with written texts that grafted the sacred and the profane in what is called religious drama . The next development was of greater import . The spirit of ...
Page 15
... mystery religion. In the theatrical context of fifteenth-century Florence, there is among the sacre rappresentazioni the play of the Feast of the Purification of Mary (Purificazione), whose records list a peccie di Giona, a papier-mâché ...
... mystery religion. In the theatrical context of fifteenth-century Florence, there is among the sacre rappresentazioni the play of the Feast of the Purification of Mary (Purificazione), whose records list a peccie di Giona, a papier-mâché ...
Page 29
... mystery and miracle plays , the Mouth of Hell erected on pageant wagons , on platforms over secrets ( i.e. , trapdoors ) in town plazas , in courtyards , in corrals , or in the " rounds " ( earthworks similar to those of the Iron Age ...
... mystery and miracle plays , the Mouth of Hell erected on pageant wagons , on platforms over secrets ( i.e. , trapdoors ) in town plazas , in courtyards , in corrals , or in the " rounds " ( earthworks similar to those of the Iron Age ...
Page 41
... Mystery and which were put in Hell to make thunder. . . . [F]or a pound of ... play (des istoires) for each of the devils every time they emerge from Hell ... play, presented in 1501. But the rubrics indicate “that Hell was a large barrel ...
... Mystery and which were put in Hell to make thunder. . . . [F]or a pound of ... play (des istoires) for each of the devils every time they emerge from Hell ... play, presented in 1501. But the rubrics indicate “that Hell was a large barrel ...
Page 59
... mystery play to Harlequin” (380). She may be referring to the French work by Adam de la Halle, whose own name pre- sents a variant of Hel and Hölle. In the play, Hellekin is the ruler of the underworld, in some dark era having ...
... mystery play to Harlequin” (380). She may be referring to the French work by Adam de la Halle, whose own name pre- sents a variant of Hel and Hölle. In the play, Hellekin is the ruler of the underworld, in some dark era having ...
Contents
13 | |
47 | |
3 The Pagan Pluto | 83 |
4 The Primal Spirit | 101 |
5 Rites of Passage | 117 |
6 The Savaged Mind | 137 |
7 Satan in Salem | 147 |
8 A Matter of Habit | 159 |
9 The Prey of the Vampire | 177 |
10 Witherd and Wild | 197 |
11 The Cave and the Magician | 225 |
Appendix | 271 |
Index | 315 |
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Common terms and phrases
Abigail ancient anonymous Arlecchino Bacchae belief cabalistic Calixto y Melibea cave Celestina century Channon Christian church classical collaboration commedia dell’arte conjuration context cueva dark death deity demonic pact Der Vampyr Devil Dionysus Dracula dragon Drama Dybbuk English Euripides evil exorcism Fairy Faust Fileno France Friar Germany Ghost God’s Grandier Greek Hades Harlequin Hecate Hellekin Hellequin human Ireland Italy John England Jones King Leah Lord Lucifer Macbeth magic magician manifest marqués de Villena mask Masque Medea medieval Mother motif Mouth of Hell mystère Mystery play myth Nieva Nosferatu occult pagan Passion play Pentheus Pluto possession priest punishment religious rites ritual Saint Salamanca Salem Satan scene serpent sexual Sister Jeanne soul spirit stage supernatural symbolic theater Thomas England tion Tituba tradition Tragedy Tragicomedia de Calixto Translated underworld United Urbain Grandier vampire France Wild William William Rowley Witch of Edmonton witchcraft witches York