Includes bibliographical references (pages 200-218) and index.
Contents:
The castle of perseverance and penitential platea -- A theater of the soul's interior : contemplative literature and penitential education in wisdom -- Speaking for mankind -- Everyman and community -- A new theater of the word : the morality play and the English Reformation -- Conclusion : morality drama inside out.
Summary:
"Paulson highlights a paradox of scholarship on medieval concepts of the self: The concept of an 'interior' self that is to some extent hidden from an 'external' world is uniquely modern, and hence alien to the medieval period; nevertheless, studies of the medieval idea of the self still privilege this modern binary in the language they use. What is needed, Paulson argues, is a new way of speaking about the medieval self that does not privilege anachronistic terms and concepts. To provide this, Paulson turns to the medieval morality plays--performances which depict selves being created through performative acts--to construct a more appropriate form of discourse"-- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.