Charismatic Authority in Early Modern English TragedyCharismatic groups form around a leader who displays extraordinary abilities in times of social distress and who is often thought to have supernatural or magical powers. Raphael Falco demonstrates that English tragedies are full of such figures, including Marlowe's Tamburlaine; Shakespeare's Richard II, Hamlet, and Othello; Milton's Samson; and the various dramatic representations of Cleopatra. Most charisma is at first revolutionary, challenging traditional or bureaucratic forms of authority. But sooner or later groups that depend on the pure or personal charisma of a central figure begin to change, even to break down. Tragedies often focus on this difficult process of charismatic transformation--a process, Falco argues, that is best understood not in terms of a single tragic figure but as a group experience. Charismatic Authority in Early Modern English Tragedy reassesses the force of group experience in tragedy by combining literary analysis with research in sociological theory, particularly the theories of Max Weber. Chapters address such manifestations of authority as pure charisma, lineage charisma, office charisma, and erotic charisma. This is a genuinely interdisciplinary critical study that will interest scholars of drama as well as critics attracted to sociological approaches to literature. |
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Page 50
... routinization of Tamburlaine's charismatic band , irrational and emotional love aris- ing from desire must eventually decay into the kind of rational rela- tionship suggested by the word love when it means patronage in Eliz- abethan ...
... routinization of Tamburlaine's charismatic band , irrational and emotional love aris- ing from desire must eventually decay into the kind of rational rela- tionship suggested by the word love when it means patronage in Eliz- abethan ...
Page 56
... routinization . As a result he confuses his own agency with petrified symbols of his charisma . His failure in his own family underscores this confusion . The family members remain outside the charismatic group ; even if Tamburlaine at ...
... routinization . As a result he confuses his own agency with petrified symbols of his charisma . His failure in his own family underscores this confusion . The family members remain outside the charismatic group ; even if Tamburlaine at ...
Page 60
... argu- ment of arms ? " ( II.4.1.99–100 ) . A. D. Hope sees Tamburlaine's behav- ior in the scene as consistent with his destructiveness throughout the plays , governed by an absoluteness that knows no degrees 60 REVOLUTION TO ROUTINIZATION.
... argu- ment of arms ? " ( II.4.1.99–100 ) . A. D. Hope sees Tamburlaine's behav- ior in the scene as consistent with his destructiveness throughout the plays , governed by an absoluteness that knows no degrees 60 REVOLUTION TO ROUTINIZATION.
Contents
Revolution to Routinization | 27 |
Charismas in Conflict | 65 |
THREE | 78 |
Copyright | |
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Common terms and phrases
action Antony and Cleopatra Antony's asceticism becomes blood body natural body politic Bolingbroke bond Brabantio calls Cassio charis charisma hunger charismatic authority charismatic claim charismatic experience charismatic group charismatic leader charismatic movement charismatic status charismatic symbols chorus Claudius conflict Coriolanus Cosroe crown Danites deliverer Desdemona disruptive dissipative structure divine dynastic early modern emotional erotic charisma erotic sacrament eroticism extraordinary father followers force Geneva Bible gifts grace group function group ideal group members Hamlet honor Iago Iago's individual irrational ismatic Israelite judge king kingship Laertes leadership libidinal lineage charisma manipulation martial matic means metanoia mission mutuality myth Nazarite notion Othello's personal charisma Philistines play pure charisma rational recognize relationship revenge revolutionary Richard Richard II Roman routinization royal rulership sacred Samson scene seems sexual Shakespeare shared experience shofet social speech strength suggests supernatural Tamburlaine Tamburlainian Theridamas thou tion traditional tragedy tragic violence warrior Weber Zenocrate