Rogues Gallery: Liminality and the Politics of Power in Early Modern Texts

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This research focuses on the marginal or uncontainable space occupied by the early modern stage and how this effected and responded to conventional power structures. In doing so, it will consider seemingly peripheral and minor figures such as fairies, fools, rogues, bawds, actors, witches, ghosts, and magicians, and the manner in which these liminal figures were given authority on the stage. This thesis discusses the case for radical power politics within early modern theatre in the way it gives voice to marginalised figures. Subversive elements of early modern theatre have been the focus of extensive research since the 1980s and the emergence of cultural materialist and new historicist ideas of power. Dollimore, Sinfield, Montrose, and Laroque are just some of the scholars who have contributed to the body of work on the performative elements of transgressive theatre and the theoretical debate surrounding containment and subversion of power from political and ideological perspectives. However, there is surprisingly little attention given to the voice of the liminal character and the potential of these marginal figures to play with the parameters and balances of power. Up until now there have been studies that have approached certain marginal characters either taxonomically or discursively. The purpose of this study will be to fill the gap in current research by addressing these marginal figures in the context of their effect on the balance of power maintained within their texts. This study will expand on the complexity of narrative perspectives inherent in plays and present a 'multivocal' and 'interactive' reading of power structures (Williams, 1994). What will make this research both new and important is that it will offer an interpretation of authority and influence in the exploitation of political, cultural, and ideological forces that considers the interaction of place, performance, and critically, character stocks, that until now have only been addressed cursively and individually. So too will it impact the area of debate surrounding containment and subversion - notably, the argument that a place within a hierarchy of power, even one on the edge has the potential to upset, destabilise, and challenge the social order.Much of the work that has been produced on the liminality of the stage has been directly in relation to Shakespeare's plays. Whilst some of these plays will be considered there is the need for a work that is not a single-author entity. Hence, my study will encompass works contemporaneous to, and including Shakespeare. Jonson, Greene, Middleton, Beaumont, and Marlowe each utilized the unique space of the stage, and the stock of liminal characters within their works. Their inclusion will produce a holistic vision of power play on the stage. Particular attention will be paid to the inversions and dichotomies of authority a contemporary audience would witness, as well as the different readings and production potentialities they enabled.