Drama, performance and debate theatre and public opinion in the early modern period ; [selected essays presented at the Conference Drama, Performance and Debate, held in Amsterdam, 29-31 May 2008

In this volume fifteen contributions discuss the role or roles of early modern ('literary' and non-literary) forms of theatre in the formation of public opinion or its use in making statements in public or private debates. Of A Confraternity? A Performance At The Puy De Notre-dame In Amiens In 1473 / Katell Laveant -- Fernandus Servatus And The Poem Supra Casum Hispani Regis By Petrus Martyr: Drama And Diplomacy In Papal Rome Under Alexander Vi / Hartmut Beyer -- Public Space In France (1490-1520) / Jelle Koopmans -- Theatricality, Controversy, And Publicity In Amsterdam In The 1530s / Arjan Van Dixhoorn -- Gnapheus And The Confessionalization Of The Lutheran Church / Verena Demoed -- In The Antwerp Entry Of Charles V And His Son Philip / Stijn Bussels -- Seventeenth-century Dutch Theatre / Hubert Meeus -- Dutch Biblical Rhetoricians' Plays / Elsa Strietman -- Unintended Topicality In Lummenaeus A Marca's Carcer Babylonius (1610) / Ron J. Gruijters -- Contextualizing Nicolas Caussin's Tragoediae Sacrae (1620): Moral Issues In The Portrayal Of Passions / Jean-frederic Chevalier -- 'founded For The Ears And Eyes Of The People': Picturing The Amsterdam Schouwburg From 1637 / Peter G.f. Eversmann -- Staging The History Of Amsterdam In Vondel's Gysbreght Van Aemstel A Non-confessional Dramatic Contribution To The Narrative Of The Dutch Revolt / Marco Prandoni -- Mundus Dramaticus: A School Drama And Dramatization: Franciscus Van Den Enden / Frans-willem Korsten -- Ballet De La Paix Staging A Seventeenth-century Theatre Performance / Imre Besanger -- Masks And Skulls: Towards An Anatomy Of Drama In The Seventeenth Century / Helmar Schramm. Edited By Jan Bloemendal, Peter G.f. Eversmann, Elsa Strietman. Selected Essays Presented At The Conference, Drama, Performance And Debate, Held In Amsterdam, 29-31 May 2008. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 360-361) And Index. Early modern theatre was a visual matter, even though the authors wrote plays which were mainly meant to be read. But whether they wrote their plays to have them performed or not, authors could use comedies, tragi-comedies or tragedies to influence public opinion, to make a statement in a debate, or to convey explicit or implicit lessons that they carried out or had carried out by linguistic, rhetorical and theatrical means. How explicit they were in expressing their views depended on the characters of the authors or the circumstances in which they wrote. Questions regarding the opinion-forming and opinion-following functions of theatre, the means by which authors and theatre makers expressed their ideas, and the role of theatre and plays in public debate are discussed from various angles. Such questions refer not only to ‘literary'plays, but also to other forms of theatrical event, such as royal entrances.Contributors include: Imre Bésanger, Hartmut Beyer, Stijn Bussels, Jean-Frédéric Chevalier, Verena Demoed, Arjan van Dixhoorn, Ron Gruijters, Jelle Koopmans, Frans-Willem Korsten, Katell Lavéant, Hubert Meeus, Marco Prandoni, and Helmar Schramm. Early modern theatre was a visual matter, even if the authors wrote plays which were mainly meant to be read. But whether they wrote their plays to have them performed or not, authors could use comedies, tragicomedies or tragedies to influence public opinion, to make a statement in a debate, or to convey explicit or implicit lessons that they carried out or had carried out be linguistic, rhetorical and theatrical means. How explicit they were in expressing their views depended on the characters of the authors or the circumstances in which they wrote. Questions regarding the opinion-forming and opinion-following functions of theatre, the means by which authors and theatre makers expressed their ideas, and the role of theatre and plays in public debate are discussed from various angles. Such questions refer not only to 'literary' plays, but also to other forms of theatrical event, such as royal entrances. Book jacket