Villainy Essay

1- Introduction: The introduction explains the research method that will be used in this work. This research method will be eclectic and interdisciplinary in nature. It relies on semiotics and performance studies. It will highlight the importance of the stage semiotics of villainy. The work will also make use of close reading of the texts and semiotic analysis of performances. I intend to argue that theatricality is a state of being that is both textual and performative. The introduction will also attempt to examine the limits of the contemporary as well as the contemporaneous approaches to Early Modern stage villains. Neglecting the theatrical aspects of villainy and focusing on its cultural and political dimensions has clouded the aesthetic

However, his crime is never dramatized. Greek dramatists often concentrate on the revenge of Orestes. The deeds of Aegisthus provide the background story of Orestes revenge. He, therefore, is a story villain. Greek drama hardly represents villainy. b- Morality Plays: the devil and his minions in medieval religious theatre may be a fine spectacle. Nevertheless, they rely on language rather than on the stage as their primary medium. They also lack the complexity of theatre characters as serve to highlight certain aspects of the protagonist personality. They represent the desires and fears of Man.

3- The Humanisation of Evil: The Early Modern villain is the product of humanism. It reflects the humanist perspective on good and evil. The humanists no longer appeal to metaphysical powers to explain human actions. As actors, humans are endowed with free will. It is up to them to decide which path to take. If the supernatural forces of evil are to be allowed on the stage, it is due to the witting or unwitting choices of the human

The Renaissance Machiavel hardly needs it to sway everyone on the stage. Named after the famous Florentine political theorist of the sixteenth century, the Machiavel uses earthly mechanisations to control the stage. The study of this literary figure will certainly elucidate the humanist conception of evil. The villains of Marlowe tend to assert their humanity. They think and act as human beings. In The Jew of Malta, Barabas craftily reacts to his changing political situation. The human condition as described in Marlowe’s play is one where Man has to manoeuver to survive and achieve progress. The world of the play is a human world. The Machiavellism that reign supreme in that world divests religion of any spiritual aspect. There are, therefore, no forces beyond this