Stages of Evil: Occultism in Western Theater and DramaUniversity Press of Kentucky, 2005 M12 23 - 344 pages "The evil that men do" 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 characters' 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 "wild man," 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 52
... known as its Golden Age and saw the innovative dramas of Lope de Vega (creator of the three-act play), Cervantes, Calderón, Tirso de Molina, and Ruiz de Alarcón; England produced the genius of Shakespeare and the bountiful talents of ...
... known as cabala; O'Neill entraps his protagonist Brutus Jones in the psychological web of Caribbean Voodoo and a primordial African god who demands human sacrifice; and Miller eschews the Devil altogether when he interprets the killing ...
... known as the commedia dell'arte. Harlequin has very strong links to Northern European and other demonic beings from antiquity, among them the Wild Man, the Green Man, Herne the Hunter, the Erl King, and the like. Both in his manner ...
... known of the witches on the Elizabethan stage, but there are numerous other practitioners of the black arts depicted in the works of the period, among them the homegrown Lancashire Witches, Mother Shipton, Mother Bombey, and Mother ...
... as Christ's Harrowing of Hell and the Last Judgment. The Mouth of Hell is likewise prominent in the staging of those medieval secular dramas known as mystery and miracle plays. The pervasiveness of the Mouth of Hell image can be.
Contents
Touchstone of Celestinas Magic | |
Possession and Exorcism | |
Voodoo Terror in Eugene ONeills | |
Sex as Grimoire in Arthur Millers The Crucible | |
The Politics of Demonic Hysteria in John | |
Malign Decadence in Francisco Nievas | |
Cauldron and Cave | |
Chthonic Sanctuaries in Early | |
Bibliography of European and American Drama of | |
Index | |