Touch in late medieval English theatre
<p>This thesis examines touch in late medieval English theatre, considering tactile encounters on stage and the role of touch in audience experience. Although touch is increasingly attracting attention in medieval studies, theatre has thus far been an exception to this trend. To rectify this,...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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2019
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| _version_ | 1797076329539043328 |
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| author | Witherden, S |
| author2 | Griffiths, J |
| author_facet | Griffiths, J Witherden, S |
| author_sort | Witherden, S |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | <p>This thesis examines touch in late medieval English theatre, considering tactile encounters on stage and the role of touch in audience experience. Although touch is increasingly attracting attention in medieval studies, theatre has thus far been an exception to this trend. To rectify this, I focus primarily—though not exclusively—on biblical drama, especially the York and N-Town Plays. My methodology is threefold, synthesizing lexical analysis, interdisciplinary comparisons of drama and art, and materially informed readings of medieval theatre.</p>
<p>At the heart of this thesis lies a paradox in medieval understandings of touch that has hitherto gone unnoticed: the sense of touch offered a pathway to the sacred, but it was also a source of uncleanness. Medieval plays—precisely because they involved human bodies—were ideally positioned to interrogate this paradox on stage. Further, some medieval plays put their spectators in a position to experience the touch paradox first hand. However, from the 1530s onwards, the sacred half of the medieval touch paradox was in decline. This development was also reflected on the contemporary stage. </p>
<p>The introduction provides a review of existing scholarship, defines my corpus and terminology, outlines my methodology, and advances my theory of the medieval touch paradox. Here, I also introduce a leitmotif for the thesis as a whole: Doubting Thomas, the apostle who refused to believe in Christ’s Resurrection without tangible proof. Chapters one and two explore moments of touch on the medieval stage in relation to the themes of gender and religious difference respectively. The remaining three chapters explore the tactile aspects of audience experience, focusing respectively on the eyes, the hands, and the feet as agents of touch.</p>
<p>The conclusion explores the wider implications of my thesis for medieval studies. In brief, this thesis offers a rich new theory of touch through which to examine not only medieval plays but also other contemporary texts. Secondly, it challenges the prevailing view that medieval theatre appealed to the senses primarily or even exclusively via sight and hearing. Thirdly, it draws attention to an important sensory rupture in sixteenth-century England, one whose influence can be felt on the stage and beyond.</p>
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T00:02:28Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oxford-uuid:766d6aad-d699-4317-81b8-326d78f11ac7 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T00:02:28Z |
| publishDate | 2019 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:766d6aad-d699-4317-81b8-326d78f11ac72022-03-26T20:16:22ZTouch in late medieval English theatreThesishttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_db06uuid:766d6aad-d699-4317-81b8-326d78f11ac7English LiteratureTheatre StudiesHistory of the SensesMedieval StudiesEnglishHyrax Deposit2019Witherden, SGriffiths, JBarr, HWalker, G<p>This thesis examines touch in late medieval English theatre, considering tactile encounters on stage and the role of touch in audience experience. Although touch is increasingly attracting attention in medieval studies, theatre has thus far been an exception to this trend. To rectify this, I focus primarily—though not exclusively—on biblical drama, especially the York and N-Town Plays. My methodology is threefold, synthesizing lexical analysis, interdisciplinary comparisons of drama and art, and materially informed readings of medieval theatre.</p> <p>At the heart of this thesis lies a paradox in medieval understandings of touch that has hitherto gone unnoticed: the sense of touch offered a pathway to the sacred, but it was also a source of uncleanness. Medieval plays—precisely because they involved human bodies—were ideally positioned to interrogate this paradox on stage. Further, some medieval plays put their spectators in a position to experience the touch paradox first hand. However, from the 1530s onwards, the sacred half of the medieval touch paradox was in decline. This development was also reflected on the contemporary stage. </p> <p>The introduction provides a review of existing scholarship, defines my corpus and terminology, outlines my methodology, and advances my theory of the medieval touch paradox. Here, I also introduce a leitmotif for the thesis as a whole: Doubting Thomas, the apostle who refused to believe in Christ’s Resurrection without tangible proof. Chapters one and two explore moments of touch on the medieval stage in relation to the themes of gender and religious difference respectively. The remaining three chapters explore the tactile aspects of audience experience, focusing respectively on the eyes, the hands, and the feet as agents of touch.</p> <p>The conclusion explores the wider implications of my thesis for medieval studies. In brief, this thesis offers a rich new theory of touch through which to examine not only medieval plays but also other contemporary texts. Secondly, it challenges the prevailing view that medieval theatre appealed to the senses primarily or even exclusively via sight and hearing. Thirdly, it draws attention to an important sensory rupture in sixteenth-century England, one whose influence can be felt on the stage and beyond.</p> |
| spellingShingle | English Literature Theatre Studies History of the Senses Medieval Studies Witherden, S Touch in late medieval English theatre |
| title | Touch in late medieval English theatre |
| title_full | Touch in late medieval English theatre |
| title_fullStr | Touch in late medieval English theatre |
| title_full_unstemmed | Touch in late medieval English theatre |
| title_short | Touch in late medieval English theatre |
| title_sort | touch in late medieval english theatre |
| topic | English Literature Theatre Studies History of the Senses Medieval Studies |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT witherdens touchinlatemedievalenglishtheatre |