Inaug.-diss.--Erlangen. / Lebenslauf. "Die folgende abhandlung ist der hauptteil der einleitung zu einer kritischen ausgabe der bruchstücke des auferstchungsspiels, die die Malone society reprints 1912 unter dem titel "The Ressurrection of our Lord" zum abdruck brachten."

Inaug.-diss.--Erlangen. / Lebenslauf. "Die folgende abhandlung ist der hauptteil der einleitung zu einer kritischen ausgabe der bruchstücke des auferstchungsspiels, die die Malone society reprints 1912 unter dem titel "The Ressurrection of our Lord" zum abdruck brachten."

The plan of this thesis is to examine the dramatic treatment of evil as deception or false appearance in a representative selection of fourteenth- and fifteenth-century morality plays. The structural core of these plays Is based on the Psychomachia, or conflict between good and evil in man’s soul, which forms the dominant theme of Medieval allegory. In the morality plays, this conflict Is most characteristically presented as a plot of deception In which Vice masquerading as Virtue tempts Mankind by sophistical argument into believing that evil is good. Theologically, this theatrical metaphor of disguise is rooted in the Medieval concept of Satan as the arch-deceiver and father of lies who can take many Protean shapes in his efforts to ensnare man's soul. Psychologically, the metaphor also embodies a simple but profound description of man's efforts to “rationalize” his own wrong-doings and to dress them in a more palatable name and guise. In this contest0 the plays may also be interpreted as allegories of self-delusion within the soul of man. This archetypal disguise of evil offers a supreme opportunity for a drama of Intrigue and deception based on the elemental human problem of recognizing evil in its true nature. The central dramatic problem of the morality plays is therefore twofold: to make the plot lively enough to hold the interest of the audience, and at the same time to make the nature of the deception clear to them even while the victim on stage remains deluded. Such clarification is vital to the homiletic intent of the plays, for the (spectators must net be deceived along with the hero but must be constantly reminded of the moral lesson. The dramatic methods arising from this problem may be summarized in three general categories to be examined in the course of this study. First, recognition is indirectly enforced by conventional devices reflecting the traditionally deceptive nature of evil: its theatrical mode of disguise and its "diabolically" clever mode of argument. These conventions, which will be discussed in the first two chapters, would be familiar to the Tudor and the Elizabethan audience through the widespread appearance of this theme in non-dramatic as well as dramatic literature of the time. Seconds the original theological allegory becomes overlaid with apparently secular warnings against social and political fraud and pretense. This surface move toward secularization may also reinforce the theological recognition of evil by placing it in a familiar everyday setting! and the morality plays share in a general Tudor preoccupation with fraud and hypocrisy which is rooted in Medieval conceptions of the nature of evil. Third, the authors continually exploit the ironic contrast between appearance and reality within the plays, allowing the informed audience to triumph over the deluded victim without forgetting the moral behind the deception. This two-dimensional relationship between actors and audience imparts a distinctive atmosphere to the morality plays, based on the use of dramatic irony for moral ends. It will be suggested that these dramatic methods may largely account for the continued vitality and popularity of the morality plays over a period of more than 150 years merging into the age of the major Elizabethan playwrights and providing them with important native examples of a drama based on intrigue. In the moralities, these methods give rise to a lively and flexible form of theatrical presentation, exploiting a dynamic relationship between the audience and the characters on stage, and possessing both artistic and psychological validity in reflecting the original allegory of evil disguised as good. / Arts, Faculty of / English, Department of / Graduate

Thesis (M. A.)--Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, South Hamilton, Mass., 1998. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 119-122).

Habilitationsschrift--Munich. / Summary in English. Bibliography: p. 247-249.

Habilitationsschrift--Munich. / Summary in English. Bibliography: p. 247-249.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Notre Dame, 2005. / Thesis directed by Graham L. Hammill for the Department of English. "November 2005." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 373-404).

This thesis is divided into four main sections as outlined in the following paragraphs. After a brief introduction setting out the purposes and limitations of the thesis, we examine Marlowe’s critical reputation from his own time to the present. We find that he was largely ignored as a playwright until he was "rediscovered" by the Romantic critics at the beginning of the nineteenth century. These critics created the myth of Marlowe as a passionate young rebel against an orthodox world, a myth that persisted well into the twentieth century. When we come to the twentieth century, we divide Marlowe critics into the Romantic (those who maintain the image of Marlowe as a rebel against orthodoxy) and the anti-Romantic (those who view him as a traditionalist). Representative works from each group are examined. It is then decided that this thesis, while it does not deny the validity of the Romantic approach, is anti-Romantic since it seeks to emphasize the traditional side of Marlowe’s writing. We then proceed to a discussion of the morality play in order to set out a working definition of the genre. This is done by an examination of the sources and the history and development of the morality and by a more extensive examination of its outstanding characteristics. We find that there is present at least one of three basic themes: the conflict of good and evil for the soul of man, contempt of the world, and the debate of the Heavenly Virtues for the soul of man after death. Certain stock characters constantly reappear, the most important of which are the Everyman type, the Vice, the Devil, the Worldly Man, the Good and Evil Angels, and Death. Two basic structural types are used, the first showing a central character who is influenced by alternating groups of good and evil figures, and the second making use of a comic subplot, alternating scenes of moral didacticism with scenes of comic relief. Other characteristics of moralities are found to be the extensive use of debate and the lack of a realistic space-time concept. We then define the morality as a didactic play using one or more of the characteristic themes, stock characters, and one of the structural patterns outlined above. We then proceed to compare Edward II with this definition. Thematically, we find that the conflict between good and evil for control of man’s soul is present in the conflict between the nobles and Gaveston for control over the king. This is developed in the morality fashion, showing the central figure succumbing to vice, repenting, and ultimately gaining salvation. The theme of contempt of the world is also present particularly in the story of Mortimer and Isabella, whose rise and fall is found to follow the pattern of the "Worldly Man" morality. We then proceed to show that thematically Edward II is a combination of two morality play types, the "good and evil conflict" type and the "Worldly Man" type, and that the conflicting roles that characters are required to play in these two structures sometimes gives rise to character ambiguity. An examination of the character types present in the play shows that Edward plays the Everyman role in the "good and evil" structure and the Heavenly Man in the "Worldly Man" structure, Mortimer’s character is found to be ambiguous because he is forced to play a virtuous counsellor within one structure and the Worldly Man in the other. The same applies to Isabella. Less important characters lack this ambiguity and function in a more straightforward manner. Kent represents Moderation, Gaveston is the Vice, Spencer and Baldock are assistant Vices, Lightborn is Death, and Prince Edward is Justice. Structurally, Edward II follows the pattern of a central character coming under the influence of good and evil characters alternately. Debate is of limited importance in the play and the concept of time is loose, as is the concept of space. The thesis concludes that although there are a number of morality play elements in Edward II, the play cannot be regarded as a morality because it does not teach an overt lesson. Although certain precepts are embodied in the text of the play, Marlowe himself seems to withold moral judgment on the action. / Arts, Faculty of / English, Department of / Graduate

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Pennsylvania.