Religious hypocrisy in performance :
Roman Catholicism and the London stage

Nigri, L

Abstract

From the Medieval period to the Restoration, the hypocrite remained a remarkably popular figure, proving its resilience as an object of fascination not only in literature but in theological, political, and social debates. In the Tudor and Stuart period more specifically, fictional and non-fictional discourses coalesce into a popular dramatic motif which, by engaging with false-seeming characters on a metatheatrical level, operates both to conceal and to reveal concerns relating to the true or false application of religious doctrine. Early modern representations of hypocrisy on stage significantly reify this general anxiety about the often ambiguous and deceitful behaviour displayed by some clergymen of the time.

Citation

Roman Catholicism and the London stage. In L. Nigri, & N. Tsentorou (Eds.), Forms of hypocrisy in Early Modern England (57-71). New York, NY ; Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315265568-4

• Online Publication Date: Sep 5, 2017
• Publication Date: Sep 6, 2017
• Deposit Date: May 2, 2018
• Publisher: Routledge
• Pages: 57-71
• Series Title: Routledge Studies in Renaissance Literature and Culture
• Book Title: Forms of hypocrisy in Early Modern England
• ISBN: 9781138291249-(hardback);-9780367884765-(paperback);-9781315265568-(ebook)
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315265568-4
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315265568-4
• Related Public URLs: https://www.routledge.com/Forms-of-Hypocrisy-in-Early-Modern-England/Nigri-Tsentourou/p/book/9781138291249; https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315265568