All Ill Come Running In, All Good Keep Out: Magic and Witchcraft in English Renaissance Drama

Bc. Miloš BUČEK

Master's thesis

Magic and Witchcraft in Early Modern English Literature

Abstract:

The aim of this master's thesis is to present and analyze magic, witchcraft, and all issues related to it, as it was perceived and understood in the early modern period, with an emphasis on the English region, and its portrayal in the English Renaissance drama. This period encompasses the rules of Elizabeth I, James I and Charles I. The first chapter is dedicated to the definition of magic and witchcraft. Moreover, it provides a comprehensive overview of these two phenomena and their most important aspects. The treatment of witchcraft in England is the main concern of the second chapter, for the social and political changes during the Elizabethan and Jacobean period had a great impact on the perception of witchcraft. This was reflected not only in the Acts of Parliament, but also in the personal attitude of the English monarchs. As a consequence, the rule of James I is marked by an unprecedented witch-vogue, which can be perceived in the contemporary drama as well. The witchcraft in the English Renaissance drama is illustrated by four plays, written between 160633: Shakespeare's Macbeth, Middleton's The Witch, The Witch of Edmonton by Rowley, Dekker and Ford, and The Late Lancashire Witches by Heywood and Brome. The goal is to find out how witches were portrayed in these plays, what were the sources of information the playwrights used, and if the final result corresponds with the overall picture of witchcraft as presented in the first two chapters.

Abstract:

Tato práce se zabývá vyobrazením magie a čarodějnictví v anglických dramatech vzniklých mezi lety 1606 až 1633. Nejprve je prostor věnovám popisu pojmů magie a čarodějnictví a jejich nejdůležitějších aspektů. Dále se práce zabývá vnímání fenoménu čarodějnictví v Anglii za vlády Alžběty I., Jakuba I. a Karla I., a rysům, které jsou pro anglické čarodějnictví typické. Hlavní část této práce se věnuje analýze čtyř anglických dramat a má za cíl zjistit, zda bylo vyobrazení čarodějnictví a čarodějnic v těchto hrách založeno na soudobých představách, či zda bylo hlavním cílem autorů vytvořit zajímavé postavy, které mají hlavně ohromit. Zkoumaná dramata jsou následující: Macbeth od Williama Shakespeara, The Witch od Thomase Middletona, The Witch of Edmonton, jejímž autory jsou Rowley, Dekker a Ford, a The Late Lancaster Witches od pánů Heywooda a Bromea.

Keywords

čarodějnictví, magie, čarodějnice, anglická renesance, raný novověk, Anglie, drama, historie, Shakespeare, Middleton, Rowley, Dekker, Ford, Heywood, Brome, Macbeth, The Witch, The Witch of Edmonton, The Late Lancashire Witches

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 16. 5. 2018

Thesis defence

• Supervisor: Mgr. David Livingstone, Ph.D.

PALACKÝ UNIVERSITY OLOMOUC

Faculty of Arts

Master programme / field:
Human Studies / English Philology - History