François de La Noue (1531-1591), gentilhomme français et protestant, compose, alors qu’il est incarcéré, les Discours politiques et militaires, publiés en 1587 : nous en proposons ici une édition commentée, précédée d'une introduction. Celle-ci comporte sept chapitres dont le premier relate la vie de l'auteur, étroitement liée aux guerres de religion. Nous nous sommes ensuite intéressés à la genèse des Discours, avant d'établir un catalogue complet des éditions et émissions de l'œuvre. Un bilan des études consacrées à La Noue et à ses écrits termine ce chapitre. Puis, l'univers culturel de ce gentilhomme qui a manié l'épée et la plume est examiné : par l'identification des sources des Discours, nous avons reconstitué sa bibliothèque. Voulant restaurer l'État, il dénonce, en moraliste, la corruption des valeurs, et propose, en réformateur, un programme éducatif. Sa vision politique tirée des Saintes Écritures et son rôle politique joué durant les guerres font l'objet du chapitre IV. Le cinquième traite de la guerre tant du point de vue de sa légitimité que de celui des institutions militaires que La Noue cherche à améliorer. Le XXVIe discours, qui porte sur l'histoire des guerres civiles, nous a poussé à nous interroger, dans la sixième partie, sur sa conception et son écriture de l'histoire. Une approche rhétorique pose, pour finir, la question du genre Discours. Plusieurs documents annexes viennent ensuite apporter des éclaircissements. Suit le texte des Discours politiques et militaires, présenté avec des notes critiques, historiques et lexicales. Enfin, un glossaire, un index et une blibliographie terminent cette thèse. / François de La Noue (1531-1591), a French protestant gentleman, composed, during his time in prison, Discours politiques et militaires published in 1587 : here we give you a commented edition, preceded by an introduction, made up of seven chapters. The first one describes the author’s life, closely related to the religious wars. We then focused on the genesis of the Discours, before establishing a complete catalogue of the editions and issues of the book. This chapter ends with an assessment of the studies devoted to La Noue. After that, this gentleman’s cultural universe, which wielded sword and quill is examined: by identifying the sources of the Discours, we have reconstituted his library. Wanting to restore the state, he denounces, moralistically, a corruption of values and he proposes, in way of reform, an educational program. His political vision, taken from the Holy Scripture and his political role during the wars make up Chapter 4. Chapter 5 looks at the war from both a legitimacy side and from the side of the military institutions that La Noue sought to improve. Speech XXVI, which talks about the history of the civil wars made us question, in Chapter 6, his conception and composition of history. We finish with a rhetorical approach to the question of the genre of the Discours. Several documents in the appendix bring clarification. To follow: Discours politiques et militaires, with critiques and historical and lexical notes. A glossary, an index and a bibliography complete this thesis.

This thesis argues that there is an enigma at the heart of Webster's The Duchess of Malfi; a disjunction between the critical history of the play and its reception in performance. Historical disquiet about the status of the play among academics and cultural commentators has not prevented its popularity with audiences. It has, however, affected some of the staging decisions made by theatre companies mounting productions. Allied to other practical factors, these have impacted significantly – and occasionally disastrously – upon performances. It is argued that Webster conceived the play as a meditation on degree and, in aiming to draw out the maximum relevance from the social satire, deliberately created the multi-faceted performative role of Bosola to work his audience in a complex and subversive manner. The role's purpose was determined in response to the structural discontinuity imposed upon the play by the physical realities of staging within the Blackfriars' auditorium. But Webster also needed an agent to serve the plot's development and, in creating the role he also invented a character, developed way beyond the material of his sources. This character proved as trapped as any other in the play by the consequences of his own moral choices. Hovering between role and character, Webster's creation remains liminally poised on ‘the dangerous edge of things.' Part One explores the contexts in which Webster created one of the most ambiguous figures in early modern drama - subverting stock malcontent, villain and revenger - and speculates on the importance of the actor, John Lowin in its genesis. It includes a subsequent performance history of the role. Part Two presents the detailed analysis of a range of professional performances from the past four decades, attempting to demonstrate how the meaning of the play has been altered by decisions made regarding the part of Bosola.