Witch of Islington, The: Difference between revisions
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== Theatrical Provenance == | == Theatrical Provenance == | ||
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== Probable Genre(s) == | == Probable Genre(s) == | ||
Realistic tragedy (?) (Harbage, 74-5); domestic drama? | Realistic tragedy (?) (Harbage, 74-5); domestic drama? <br> <br> | ||
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== Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues == | == Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues == | ||
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Ben Jonson writes, in an annotation to his ''Masque of Queenes'' (1609), on witches making pictures of their victims in wax, etc.:<br> | Ben Jonson writes, in an annotation to his ''Masque of Queenes'' (1609), on witches making pictures of their victims in wax, etc.:<br> | ||
<blockquote>''Bodin''... hath... much of the witches later practise in that kind, and reports a relation of a ''French Ambassadours'', out of ''England'', of certaine pictures of wax found in a dunghill, neere Islington, of our late ''Queenes'', which rumor I my selfe (being then very younge) can yet remember to haue bene current. (B2r, n.)</blockquote> | <blockquote>''Bodin''... hath... much of the witches later practise in that kind, and reports a relation of a ''French Ambassadours'', out of ''England'', of certaine pictures of wax found in a dunghill, neere Islington, of our late ''Queenes'', which rumor I my selfe (being then very younge) can yet remember to haue bene current. (B2r, n.)</blockquote> | ||
It has been suggested that it was on this episode that the play was based. Fleay writes: 'This must have afforded the plot to The Witch of Islington' (II, 4-5). | It has been suggested that it was on this episode that the play was based. Fleay writes: 'This must have afforded the plot to The Witch of Islington' (II, 4-5). The supposed attack on the Queen took place in 1578 (Sharpe, 45). | ||
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== References to the Play == | == References to the Play == | ||
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H. W. Herrington posits a “dramatic vogue” for witchcraft plays in the late 1590s (478), and, after discussing [[Mother Redcap]], writes: | H. W. Herrington posits a “dramatic vogue” for witchcraft plays in the late 1590s (478), and, after discussing [[Mother Redcap]], writes: | ||
<blockquote>Earlier in the same year [1597] Henslowe notes a performance of "The Witch of Islington." By the next year had been written "Black Joan." The former was either an out-and-out witch play, or else such a play with political bearings. The latter, in all probability, was a witch play also. If we may judge from the titles and the growing realism of dramatic treatment, they were of a kind far closer to actual life than those hitherto considered. (478)</blockquote> | <blockquote>Earlier in the same year [1597] Henslowe notes a performance of "The Witch of Islington." By the next year had been written "Black Joan." The former was either an out-and-out witch play, or else such a play with political bearings. The latter, in all probability, was a witch play also. If we may judge from the titles and the growing realism of dramatic treatment, they were of a kind far closer to actual life than those hitherto considered. (478)</blockquote> | ||
Adams suggests that Henslowe's omission of 'ne' (i.e. new) in the diary entries indicates that it was a revival of an old play (95).<br> | Adams suggests that Henslowe's omission of 'ne' (i.e. new) in the diary entries indicates that it was a revival of an old play (95).<br> <br> <br> | ||
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<br> | == For What It's Worth == | ||
(Information welcome) <br> <br> <br> | |||
== Works Cited == | == Works Cited == | ||
<div style="padding-left: 2em; text-indent: -2em;">Adams, H. H. ''English Domestic Or, Homiletic Tragedy 1575 to 1642''. New York: Benjamin Blom, Inc., 1943. Print.</div> | <div style="padding-left: 2em; text-indent: -2em;">Adams, H. H. ''English Domestic Or, Homiletic Tragedy 1575 to 1642''. New York: Benjamin Blom, Inc., 1943. Print.</div> <div style="padding-left: 2em; text-indent: -2em">Fleay, F. G. ''A Biographical Chronicle of the English Drama, 1559-1642''. 2 vols. London: Reeves & Turner, 1891. Print. [http://www.archive.org/stream/abiographicalch03fleagoog#page/n3/mode/2up Web].</div> <div style="padding-left: 2em; text-indent: -2em">Herrington, H. W. “Witchcraft and Magic in the Elizabethan Drama”. ''The Journal of American Folklore'' 32.126 (1919): 447–85. Print. [http://www.archive.org/stream/journalamerican80socigoog#page/n472/mode/2up Web].</div> <div style="padding-left: 2em; text-indent: -2em">Jonson, B. ''The Masque of Queenes''. London: Nicholas Okes for R. Bonian and H. Wally, 1609. Print. [http://gateway.proquest.com.ezproxy.sussex.ac.uk/openurl?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2003&res_id=xri:eebo&rft_id=xri:eebo:citation:99844873 Web (EEBO)]; [http://books.google.com/books?id=7q7TAAAAMAAJ&dq=jonson%20the%20masque%20of%20queens&pg=PA682#v=onepage&q&f=false web (ed. W. Gifford, 1855, Google Books)].</div> | ||
<div style="padding-left: 2em; text-indent: -2em">Fleay, F. G. ''A Biographical Chronicle of the English Drama, 1559-1642''. 2 vols. London: Reeves & Turner, 1891. Print. [http://www.archive.org/stream/abiographicalch03fleagoog#page/n3/mode/2up Web].</div> | <div style="padding-left: 2em; text-indent: -2em">Sharpe, J. ''Instruments of Darkness - Witchcraft in Early Modern England''. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1996. Print.</div> | ||
<div style="padding-left: 2em; text-indent: -2em">Herrington, H. W. “Witchcraft and Magic in the Elizabethan Drama”. ''The Journal of American Folklore'' 32.126 (1919): 447–85. Print. [http://www.archive.org/stream/journalamerican80socigoog#page/n472/mode/2up Web].</div> <div style="padding-left: 2em; text-indent: -2em">Jonson, B. ''The Masque of Queenes''. London: Nicholas Okes for R. Bonian and H. Wally, 1609. Print. [http://gateway.proquest.com.ezproxy.sussex.ac.uk/openurl?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2003&res_id=xri:eebo&rft_id=xri:eebo:citation:99844873 Web (EEBO)]; [http://books.google.com/books?id=7q7TAAAAMAAJ&dq=jonson%20the%20masque%20of%20queens&pg=PA682#v=onepage&q&f=false web (ed. W. Gifford, 1855, Google Books)].</div> | |||
<br><br><br> Site created and maintained by [[Simon Davies]], University of Sussex; updated 13 May 2011. | <br><br><br> Site created and maintained by [[Simon Davies]], University of Sussex; updated 13 May 2011. | ||
[[Category:Admiral's]] [[Category:All]][[ | [[Category:Admiral's]] [[Category:All]] [[Category:Witch]] | ||
Revision as of 16:33, 23 May 2011
Historical Records
Henslowe's Diary
| [July 1597] | 14 | tt at the wiche of Jslyngton | 01— | 07— | 02-00-00 |
(marginal note: "marten slather went for the company of my lord admeralles men the 18 of July 1597")
| [July 1597] | 28 | tt at the wiche of Jselyngton | 01— | 08— | 00-13-00 |
Theatrical Provenance
The Admiral's Company.
Probable Genre(s)
Realistic tragedy (?) (Harbage, 74-5); domestic drama?
Possible Narrative and Dramatic Sources or Analogues
Ben Jonson writes, in an annotation to his Masque of Queenes (1609), on witches making pictures of their victims in wax, etc.:
Bodin... hath... much of the witches later practise in that kind, and reports a relation of a French Ambassadours, out of England, of certaine pictures of wax found in a dunghill, neere Islington, of our late Queenes, which rumor I my selfe (being then very younge) can yet remember to haue bene current. (B2r, n.)
It has been suggested that it was on this episode that the play was based. Fleay writes: 'This must have afforded the plot to The Witch of Islington' (II, 4-5). The supposed attack on the Queen took place in 1578 (Sharpe, 45).
References to the Play
None known.
Critical Commentary
H. W. Herrington posits a “dramatic vogue” for witchcraft plays in the late 1590s (478), and, after discussing Mother Redcap, writes:
Earlier in the same year [1597] Henslowe notes a performance of "The Witch of Islington." By the next year had been written "Black Joan." The former was either an out-and-out witch play, or else such a play with political bearings. The latter, in all probability, was a witch play also. If we may judge from the titles and the growing realism of dramatic treatment, they were of a kind far closer to actual life than those hitherto considered. (478)
Adams suggests that Henslowe's omission of 'ne' (i.e. new) in the diary entries indicates that it was a revival of an old play (95).
For What It's Worth
(Information welcome)
Works Cited
Adams, H. H. English Domestic Or, Homiletic Tragedy 1575 to 1642. New York: Benjamin Blom, Inc., 1943. Print.
Fleay, F. G. A Biographical Chronicle of the English Drama, 1559-1642. 2 vols. London: Reeves & Turner, 1891. Print. Web.
Herrington, H. W. “Witchcraft and Magic in the Elizabethan Drama”. The Journal of American Folklore 32.126 (1919): 447–85. Print. Web.
Jonson, B. The Masque of Queenes. London: Nicholas Okes for R. Bonian and H. Wally, 1609. Print. Web (EEBO); web (ed. W. Gifford, 1855, Google Books).
Sharpe, J. Instruments of Darkness - Witchcraft in Early Modern England. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1996. Print.
Site created and maintained by Simon Davies, University of Sussex; updated 13 May 2011.