Staging Faith : East Anglian Drama in the Later Middle Ages

East Anglian dramatic manuscripts record a vigorous, long-lived, and spectacular theater that flourished in the late Middle Ages. 'Staging Faith' explores the relationship between production methods, dramatic structure, iconography, and the medieval reception of these plays. It explores how different modes of production resulted in types of dramatic organization and how varied playwrights exploited the symbolic potential of various settings, props and dramatic actions. Staging Faith Examines The Relationship Between Faith And Stagecraft In Late Medieval East Anglia, Especially Focusing On Attitudes Towards Art And Drama. The Evidence Demonstrates That The East Anglian Stage Served As A Particularly Vivid Object Of Pious Memory, Meditation, And Devotion In Its Own Right. Drama Was Not Just The Container Of Devotional Images, However. It Also Functioned As A Didactic Tool, A Mnemonic Device, And Even As A Subversive Commentary On Contemporary Conditions. Powerful Symbols, Often Dramatically Embodied As Stage Settings, Props, And Actions, Are Central To The Structure Of East Anglian Plays, Giving Them Religious, Social, And Theatrical Impact. Illustrating This Thesis Through An Examination Of The Plays Themselves, Staging Faith Explores How Different Modes Of Production Resulted In Different Types Of Dramatic Organization, Different Relationships Between The Audience And The Dramatic Action, And How Dramatists Exploited The Symbolic And Affective Potential Of Different Types Of Settings, Props, And Dramatic Actions. The Simple Place-and-scaffold Play Accommodated An Oppositional Structure, One That Could Be Embodied Spatially In The Arrangement Of The Scaffolds And Further Articulated In Processional Action. The Symbolic Images In These Dramas Often Have A Strongly Devotional Character And Attempt To Unite The Play's Audience Around A Central Devotional Object Or Scene.--book Jacket. Victor I. Scherb. Revision Of The Author's Thesis. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 244-267) And Index. Acknowledgments Introduction 1: "Si placet": An Introduction to East Anglian Drama 2: Devotional Images and Stagecraft 3: Processional Action and Devotional Imagery in the Simple Place-and-Scaffold Play 4: From Soul to Social England: Stagecraft and Setting in Mankind and Wisdom 5: Staging Faith: The East Anglian Large-Scale Play The N-Town Play and Conclusions Notes Bibliography Index