The Rise and Fall of Rape on the English Stage

1660–1720

Anne Greenfield

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Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Routledge
19 August 2024

Performance art; Theatre Studies; Cultural studies; Gender studies, gender groups

Series: Routledge Advances in Theatre & Performance Studies

This book examines one of the most pervasive and successful dramatic tropes of the Restoration and early eighteenth century: sexual violence.

During this sixty-year span, there were over fifty tragic and tragi-comedic productions that showcased rape and/or attempted rape—a remarkable number that was unprecedented in English dramatic history. Rape was not merely depicted more frequently during the Restoration, but it was also placed at the center of more plots, given more pathetic emphasis, and even staged more centrally. Restoration dramatists were the first to revolve routinely entire plots around the rapes of their innocent heroines, to give powerful voices to these heroines post-rape, and to imbue their sexually violent scenes with new and attention-getting staging techniques, such as discovery scenes. As this book argues, sexual violence emerged at this time as a highly flexible dramatic trope that could be used to illustrate terrifying political scenarios, elicit extreme pathos in audiences, and demonstrate the bearing that lost chastity had on social stability. It is precisely the rich, multi-faceted appeal of these productions—politically, sexually, visually, and culturally—that explains the popularity and significance of this dramatic trope on the English stage.

This book will be of interest to students and scholars in Restoration, eighteenth-century studies, and theatre and performance studies.

By: Anne Greenfield
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm,
ISBN: 9781032676968
ISBN 10: 1032676965
Series: Routledge Advances in Theatre & Performance Studies
Pages: 142
Publication Date: 19 August 2024
Audience: College/higher education , Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

1. Introduction 2. Sexual Violence on the Restoration Stage 3. Orientalist Depictions of Rape 4. From Chastity Stolen to Chastity Lost

Anne Greenfield is Professor of English, Valdosta State University.