Holy vessels, tyrants, fools, and blind men : performing antinomianism and transgressive agency【翻译】

ABSTRACT
Over four chapters, this study extends and focuses recent critical work on
religious sects in literature to examine five plays and one theatrical prose work from the
late medieval period through the late seventeenth century in England. Specifically, this
study charts the appearance and conduct of antinomians, or those whose faith in Christ is
the sole guide for their actions and who eschew all outward behavioral constraints.
Antinomianism is, in some ways, a logical step for newly empowered individual
believers with no direct mediator between themselves and the Word, but it represents a
dangerous potential for religious and social anarchy. For some of the characters I
consider, antinomianism has been mapped onto them by modern literary critics precisely
because their transgressive agency is so frightening to their contemporaries. For others,
antinomianism is depicted as a positive mode of interacting with the unenlightened, but it
is clear that these figures are allowed privilege outside the reach of mainstream believers.
A negative parody of these normal believers is also represented in my project, and these
characters’ buffoonish misinterpretations and selfish motives negate any positive reading
of their “liberating” antinomian belief.
All of these characters—whether positive, negative, or even truly antinomian at
all—reveal a key anxiety about personal belief and the well-being of civic and religious
society in the mercurial landscape of pre- and post-Reformation England and the
atmosphere of social and religious uncertainty that preceded the English Civil War. As
such, an attention to the interconnections between the works under primary study and
those circulating in the culture at the time is crucial to accurately identifying and
understanding the myriad shades of religious belief that populate the pages of literature
and polemics alike. In part, my project works to create a more complete and nuanced
picture of the religious and literary landscapes of early modern England.
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Abstract Approved: ____________________________________
Thesis Supervisor
____________________________________
Title and Department
____________________________________
Date
HOLY VESSELS, TYRANTS, FOOLS, AND BLIND MEN: PERFORMING
ANTINOMIANISM AND TRANSGRESSIVE AGENCY IN ENGLISH DRAMA,
1450-1671
by
Judith Claire Coleman
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the Doctor of
Philosophy degree in English
in the Graduate College of
The University of Iowa
May 2013
Thesis Supervisor: Professor Miriam Gilbert
Graduate College
The University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa
CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL
_______________________
PH.D. THESIS
_______________
This is to certify that the Ph.D. thesis of
Judith Claire Coleman
has been approved by the Examining Committee
for the thesis requirement for the Doctor of Philosophy
degree in English at the May 2013 graduation.
Thesis Committee: ___________________________________
Miriam Gilbert, Thesis Supervisor
___________________________________
Claire Sponsler
___________________________________
Lori Branch
___________________________________
Blaine Greteman
___________________________________
Raymond Mentzer
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To my parents, Melanie and Richard Coleman, who always give the best advice.
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No love’s as random as God’s love / I can’t stand it.
Wilco
“Can’t Stand It,” from Summerteeth
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This study would not have been possible without the thoughtful input, pointed
criticism, and tireless support I have received from many. First and foremost, my
husband, Steven Cowser—the finest Miltonist I know—provided his keen critical eye and
loving encouragement; I only hope he knows that I love him more than words can wield
the matter. Thanks must also go to Professor Miriam Gilbert, whose patience and
guidance have been much appreciated, and whose kindness knows no bounds. I again
thank my parents, who have always encouraged me to study literature, even if this meant
moving home at the age of thirty-one. My sisters and their families have also provided
much support, love, and many care packages from Mississippi, all of which were savored
and appreciated. Other venerable scholars—chief among them Sharon Achinstein, David
Norbrook, Claire Sponsler, and Lori Branch—read early versions of my chapters and
provided invaluable suggestions, and I give them my heartfelt thanks. Finally, I thank my
wonderful friends and colleagues, but especially Kerry Delaney Doyle, a most excellent
friend who has provided indispensable advice as well as many much-needed laughs
throughout this process.
I must also acknowledge the lasting influence of the late Huston Diehl, whose
scholarship provides a model I can only hope to emulate. Her quick wit, kindness, and
seemingly limitless knowledge are greatly missed. It was she who read the first draft of
the paper that would bloom into this dissertation, and I hope I have wrought something
worthy of her memory.
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ABSTRACT
Over four chapters, this study extends and focuses recent critical work on
religious sects in literature to examine five plays and one theatrical prose work from the
late medieval period through the late seventeenth century in England. Specifically, this
study charts the appearance and conduct of antinomians, or those whose faith in Christ is
the sole guide for their actions and who eschew all outward behavioral constraints.
Antinomianism is, in some ways, a logical step for newly empowered individual
believers with no direct mediator between themselves and the Word, but it represents a
dangerous potential for religious and social anarchy. For some of the characters I
consider, antinomianism has been mapped onto them by modern literary critics precisely
because their transgressive agency is so frightening to their contemporaries. For others,
antinomianism is depicted as a positive mode of interacting with the unenlightened, but it
is clear that these figures are allowed privilege outside the reach of mainstream believers.
A negative parody of these normal believers is also represented in my project, and these
characters’ buffoonish misinterpretations and selfish motives negate any positive reading
of their “liberating” antinomian belief.
All of these characters—whether positive, negative, or even truly antinomian at
all—reveal a key anxiety about personal belief and the well-being of civic and religious
society in the mercurial landscape of pre- and post-Reformation England and the
atmosphere of social and religious uncertainty that preceded the English Civil War. As
such, an attention to the interconnections between the works under primary study and
those circulating in the culture at the time is crucial to accurately identifying and
understanding the myriad shades of religious belief that populate the pages of literature
and polemics alike. In part, my project works to create a more complete and nuanced
picture of the religious and literary landscapes of early modern England.
v
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION THE LETTER AND SPIRIT OF ANTINOMIANISM………………1
Notes………………………………………………………………….……...27
CHAPTER 1 “HOW HAST ÞU CHAUNGYD ÞIN HOLY THOUGHT?”: MARY,
MARGERY KEMPE, AND ANTINOMIAN INTERPRETIVE MODES
IN LATE MEDIEVAL ENGLISH LITERATURE..…………………….…31
Interiority, Personal Piety, and Mary’s Problematic Body……………….…35
Trial by Potion: Detractors and the “Evidence” of the Gaze…………….….48
The Troublesome Agency of Margery Kempe……………………………...62
Notes…………………………………………………………………….…..73
CHAPTER 2 POWERLESS TAMBURLAINE: ORACLES, CUSTOMS, AND
THE ANTINOMIAN QUESTION………….………………………………..78
Tamburlaine: God’s Scourge, or Tyrannical Libertine?.................................79
Tamburlaine’s Inescapable Utterances……………………………………...86
Words and Deeds at Odds: Tamburlaine’s Thwarted Will………………....101
Death, Legacy, and the Limits of Tamburlaine’s Power………………..….107
Notes……………………………………………………………………..…119
CHAPTER 3 “THE MOTION’S GOOD, / AND OF THE SPIRIT”:
ANTINOMIAN PURITANS IN THOMAS MIDDLETON AND
BEN JONSON…….………………………………………………………123
William Hacket and the Threat of Transgressive Agency………………....127
The Godly on Stage………………………………………………………..132
Absurd Precisianism: “Nimming” with a Clear Conscience……………....144
Jonson’s “Anabaptists” and the Motions of the Spirit……………………..154
Notes…………………………………………………………………….…164
CHAPTER 4 “I MEAN TO SHEW YOU OF MY STRENGTH, YET GREATER”:
SAMSON’S ANTINOMIAN MOTIONS………………………………...170
Samson’s Terrorism?.....................................................................................173
Antinomianism, Samson, and the Middle Problem…………………….…..178
The Past in Present: Reading the Motions against Samson’s Past………....193
Notes…………………………………………………………………….….211
CONCLUSION POPULAR TEXTS AND THE GEOGRAPHY OF RELIGIOUS
BELIEF………………………………………………………………….…216
Notes……………………………………………………………………….222
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BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………………223

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