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Afterlives of Endor: Witchcraft, Theatricality, and Uncertainty from the Malleus Maleficarum to Shakespeare — Witchcraft Wicca

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Afterlives of Endor: Witchcraft, Theatricality, and Uncertainty from the Malleus Maleficarum to Shakespeare

Name: Afterlives of Endor: Witchcraft, Theatricality, and Uncertainty from the Malleus Maleficarum to Shakespeare
Price: 145.00 USD
Availability: InStock
ISBN: 9781501772085

✍️ Levine, Laura

Reader Score

4.6

(1 review)

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📚 WHAT THE BOOK IS ABOUT

An academic study of witchcraft, illusion, and theatricality in early modern English literature and demonology.

Laura Levine examines how early modern English literature confronted anxieties surrounding witchcraft, illusion, and theatricality. Published by Cornell University Press, this 192-page hardcover focuses on the epistemological constraints and rhetorical choices that led demonologists to view witch trials as spectacles. Levine pairs close readings of key demonological manuals and pamphlets, including Jean Bodin's De la Demonomanie des Sorciers (1580), Reginald Scot's skeptical The Discoverie of Witchcraft (1584), and King James VI/I's Daemonologie (1597), with canonical literary works. She scrutinizes these historical texts alongside William Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale and The Tempest, Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene, and Christopher Marlowe's The Tragicall History of Doctor Faustus. As Professor of Theatre Studies at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and author of Men in Women's Clothing, Levine applies literary scrutiny to the argumentative investments and underlying tensions of demonological writings. The comprehensive work suits readers interested in academic literary criticism, early modern theater history, and demonological research. It does not suit readers seeking a practical guide to modern witchcraft or a general history of European witch trials.

Key Themes

early modern demonology witchcraft and theatricality literary anxieties about illusion

Literary Context

This study sits within early modern England and Europe, drawing on sixteenth-century demonological manuals alongside canonical Elizabethan and Jacobean plays and poetry.

Levine, Laura

📚 all books by this author (2) →

Difficulty

●●● Challenging

Recommended For Fans Of

Shakespeare · Christopher Marlowe · Edmund Spenser · Malleus Maleficarum

🌙

Witchcraft & Wicca

🏛 Cornell University Press 📅 2023 📖 192 pages 📔 Hardcover ISBN: 9781501772085

Fun Fact

Levine's "Afterlives of Endor" is a vital contribution to early modern studies, offering a brilliantly nuanced perspective on the intertwined specters of witchcraft and theatricality. Its strength lies in its meticulous textual analysis, weaving together demonological tracts and literary masterpieces to reveal a complex cultural tapestry. While not a casual read for those seeking a simple history of witch hunts, it will deeply satisfy scholars and serious readers interested in the intellectual and performative dimensions of belief. This book firmly establishes itself as an essential text for understanding the anxieties that shaped an era.

📝 Description: Afterlives of Endor: Witchcraft, Theatricality, and Uncertainty from the Malleus Maleficarum to Shakespeare

Laura Levine examines how early modern English literature confronted anxieties surrounding witchcraft, illusion, and theatricality. Published by Cornell University Press, this 192-page hardcover focuses on the epistemological constraints and rhetorical choices that led demonologists to view witch trials as spectacles. Levine pairs close readings of key demonological manuals and pamphlets, including Jean Bodin's De la Demonomanie des Sorciers (1580), Reginald Scot's skeptical The Discoverie of Witchcraft (1584), and King James VI/I's Daemonologie (1597), with canonical literary works. She scrutinizes these historical texts alongside William Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale and The Tempest, Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene, and Christopher Marlowe's The Tragicall History of Doctor Faustus. As Professor of Theatre Studies at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and author of Men in Women's Clothing, Levine applies literary scrutiny to the argumentative investments and underlying tensions of demonological writings. The work suits readers interested in academic literary criticism, early modern theater history, and demonological research. It does not suit readers seeking a practical guide to modern witchcraft or a general history of European witch trials.

💎 Expert review

“

💎

Esoterica Books editorial team

Occult literature desk

Levine provides a rigorous academic exploration of the rhetorical strategies shaping perceptions of the supernatural in early modern England. While the text is intellectually stimulating for specialists in demonology or literary history, it may not suit casual readers seeking narrative entertainment or straightforward historical accounts. Those looking for accessible pop-history or fictionalized interpretations of witchcraft will likely find this dense, analytical study too specialized and theoretically demanding for their tastes.

✓ EDITOR'S REVIEW

📖 Why choose it

📖

Why this book is worth reading

Scholars and enthusiasts of early modern culture will find immense value in Levine’s meticulous analysis of how writers navigated the precariousness of certainty during a tumultuous era. By examining the rhetorical strategies used to depict demonic influence and illusion, this book offers a profound understanding of the anxieties surrounding witchcraft and theatricality. It is essential for those interested in the historical roots of supernatural belief and its artistic representation, revealing the deep tensions between faith, doubt, and performance that defined the period’s intellectual landscape.

⭐ Reader reviews

The starting rating comes from the team Esoterica Books —

⭐ Esoterica editorial review Editorial rating 4.6/5

★★★★★

If you're fascinated by the cultural history of magic, the literary landscape of early modern England, or the complex interplay between belief and performance, this book is for you. Scholars and curious readers alike will find its interdisciplinary insights deeply rewarding.

Reader rating

4.6

Based on 1 reviews

Esoterica Books editorial team

Levine provides a rigorous academic exploration of the rhetorical strategies shaping perceptions of the supernatural in early modern England. While the text is intellectually stimulating for specialists in demonology or literary history, it may not suit casual readers seeking narrative entertainment or straightforward historical accounts. Those looking for accessible pop-history or fictionalized interpretations of witchcraft will likely find this dense, analytical study too specialized and theoretically demanding for their tastes.

❓ Frequently asked questions

While it touches upon the historical context of witch trials, the book's main focus is on literary and cultural analysis, exploring how anxieties about witchcraft were represented and debated in texts, rather than a chronological history of prosecutions.

No, while Shakespeare's plays are central to its analysis, the book also examines a broader range of early modern literary and demonological texts, including works by Spenser, Marlowe, King James VI/I, and Reginald Scot, providing a comprehensive view.

📖 Who should read this

🎯 Key themes and symbolism

Witchcraft & Societal Fear

The book meticulously unpacks the pervasive societal anxieties concerning witchcraft in early modern England. It examines how these fears were articulated in both official demonological texts and imaginative literature, highlighting the cultural mechanisms through which perceived magical threats were understood, codified, and often sensationalized, revealing a deep collective unease about unseen forces.

Theatricality & Illusion

Levine masterfully explores the intricate relationship between theatrical performance and the perception of witchcraft. She demonstrates how the stage, with its capacity for illusion and spectacle, mirrored the debates around the authenticity of supernatural occurrences and demonic possessions. This theme considers how dramatized events, both on stage and in trials, blurred the lines between reality and artifice.

Epistemology & Belief

This work probes the very foundations of knowledge and belief systems that governed early modern understandings of witchcraft. It investigates the underlying epistemological constraints that shaped how demonologists and writers interpreted phenomena, questioning what constituted proof, how truth was constructed, and the profound impact these frameworks had on accusations, confessions, and literary representations of magic.

📜 Historical context

Emerging from a rich tradition of scholarship on early modern culture, "Afterlives of Endor" offers a fresh lens on the 'witchcraft craze' by bridging literary criticism with the history of ideas. It situates itself within a dialogue that seeks to understand the social and intellectual forces shaping an era grappling with scientific revolution, religious upheaval, and pervasive fears of the unknown, offering a nuanced perspective on enduring anxieties.

📚 Glossary

Demonology
Epistemology
Theatricality

📔 Questions to reflect on

How might the blurring of lines between theatrical performance and perceived reality in early modern England inform our understanding of 'fake news' or curated realities today?
Consider a contemporary cultural anxiety. In what ways do literature and popular media reflect and shape our understanding of this fear, similar to how witchcraft was handled in the early modern period?
If 'truth' in a witch trial was often a matter of interpretation and performance, how does this challenge modern notions of objective evidence and judicial process?