Magical Transformations on the Early Modern English Stage (Studies in Performance and Early Modern Drama)

Magical Transformations on the Early Modern Stage furthers the debate about the cultural work performed by representations of magic on the early modern English stage. It considers the ways in which performances of magic reflect and feed into a sense of national identity, both in the form of magic contests and in its recurrent linkage to national defence; the extent to which magic can trope other concerns, and what these might be; and how magic is staged and what the representational strategies and techniques might mean. The essays range widely over both canonical plays-Macbeth, The Tempest, The Winter's Tale, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Doctor Faustus, Bartholomew Fair-and notably less canonical ones such as The Birth of Merlin, Fedele and Fortunio, The Merry Devil of Edmonton, The Devil is an Ass, The Late Lancashire Witches and The Witch of Edmonton, putting the two groups into dialogue with each other and also exploring ways in which they can be profitably related to contemporary cases or accusations of witchcraft. Attending to the representational strategies and self-conscious intertextuality of the plays as well as to their treatment of their subject matter, the essays reveal the plays they discuss as actively intervening in contemporary debates about witchcraft and magic in ways which themselves effect transformation rather than simply discussing it. At the heart of all the essays lies an interest in the transformative power of magic, but collectively they show that the idea of transformation applies not only to the objects or even to the subjects of magic, but that the plays themselves can be seen as working to bring about change in the ways that they challenge contemporary assumptions and stereotypes. Cover 1 Contents 6 Notes on Contributors 8 Acknowledgements 12 Introduction 14 Part I Demons and Pacts 30 1 Magic and the Decline of Demons 32 2 Who the Devil is in Charge? 44 3 Danger in Words 60 Part II Rites to Believe 72 4 ‘The Charm’s Wound Up’ 74 5 Demonising Macbeth 88 6 Hermetic Miracles in The Winter’s Tale 104 Part III Learned Magic 122 7 ‘We ring this round with our invoking spells’ 124 8 Boiled Brains, ‘Inward Pinches’, and Alchemical Tempering in The Tempest 136 9 Profit and Delight? 152 Part IV Local Witchcraft 166 10 Three Wax Images, Two Italian Gentlemen, and One English Queen 168 11 ‘In good reporte and honest estimacion amongst her neighbours’ 182 12 ‘A witch, a quean, an old cozening quean!’ 198 13 ‘Gingerbread Progeny’ in Bartholomew Fair 216 14 ‘My poor fiddle is bewitched’ 228 Bibliography 246 Index 268 Considering A Variety Of Questions Centering On Magic And, Or In, Performance, This Volume Furthers The Debate About The Cultural Work Performed By Representations Of Magic On The Early Modern English Stage. Collectively The Essays Show That The Idea Of Transformation Applies Not Only To The Objects And Subjects Of Magic, But That The Plays Themselves Can Be Seen As Working To Effect Transformation In The Ways That They Challenge Contemporary Assumptions And Stereotypes. At the heart of all the essays lies an interest in the transformative power of magic, but collectively they show that the idea of transformation applies not only to the objects or even to the subjects of magic, but that the plays themselves can be seen as working to bring about change in the ways that they challenge contemporary assumptions and stereotypes."--Pub. desc