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Spectacles were a prominent element of early modern culture. Sensational news about spectacular events such as ‘monstrous births’, divine portents, and hideous crimes circulated in pamphlets and ballads. State punishment such as executions took the form of violent spectacles often witnessed by thousands of people. Early modern theatre plays were spectacles in themselves which entertained mass audiences, and they also performed spectacles: on stage, fairies, ghosts and witches made their appearances, magic was performed, statues came to life and atrocious murders were committed.
In this course, we will read Shakespeare’s play Macbeth (1606) as an early modern play which revolves around various forms of spectacles and which is linked to a spectacular event of seventeenth-century politics, the Gunpowder Plot (1605). We will also discuss early modern pamphlets about witchcraft and monsters, focusing on how these texts engage with questions of religion, society, and politics. With the help of twenty-first century film excerpts, we will discuss how the early modern age has been turned into a spectacle for the consumption of today’s audiences.
Students who would like to get credit for this course, must attend both the first meeting on 22 October and the two weekend seminars (”Block I” and ”Block II”). Students will have to read Shakespeare’s play and the other texts which we’ll discuss in preparation for the weekend seminars. A reader will be made available during the first meeting. |
