This thesis aims to analyse how the mentally disabled was perceived in early modern England, not simply from a social and medical point of view, but also throughout a literary analysis of texts and plays from the late XVI and early XVII centuries. I will be taking into consideration two works of Robert Armin (1563- 1615), comic author and stage actor, member of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. He played different roles in various plays of William Shakespeare, so the most significant characters embodying folly/mental illness will be analysed as well. The first of Armin’s works I will consider is a comedy, The History of the Two Maids of More-Clacke, and I am going to be focusing on the character of John, who is described as an “innocent Ideot that neuer harmed any” in Armin’s second work, A Nest of Ninnies, a pamphlet that is useful to have a better idea of how mental disability was seen back then.

This thesis aims to analyse how the mentally disabled was perceived in early modern England, not simply from a social and medical point of view, but also throughout a literary analysis of texts and plays from the late XVI and early XVII centuries. I will be taking into consideration two works of Robert Armin (1563- 1615), comic author and stage actor, member of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. He played different roles in various plays of William Shakespeare, so the most significant characters embodying folly/mental illness will be analysed as well. The first of Armin’s works I will consider is a comedy, The History of the Two Maids of More-Clacke, and I am going to be focusing on the character of John, who is described as an “innocent Ideot that neuer harmed any” in Armin’s second work, A Nest of Ninnies, a pamphlet that is useful to have a better idea of how mental disability was seen back then.

Mental disability in Early Modern England through the eyes of a professional entertainer: an analysis of Robert Armin’s works

FASOLATO, RACHELE
2022/2023

Abstract

This thesis aims to analyse how the mentally disabled was perceived in early modern England, not simply from a social and medical point of view, but also throughout a literary analysis of texts and plays from the late XVI and early XVII centuries. I will be taking into consideration two works of Robert Armin (1563- 1615), comic author and stage actor, member of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. He played different roles in various plays of William Shakespeare, so the most significant characters embodying folly/mental illness will be analysed as well. The first of Armin’s works I will consider is a comedy, The History of the Two Maids of More-Clacke, and I am going to be focusing on the character of John, who is described as an “innocent Ideot that neuer harmed any” in Armin’s second work, A Nest of Ninnies, a pamphlet that is useful to have a better idea of how mental disability was seen back then.
2022
Mental disability in Early Modern England through the eyes of a professional entertainer: an analysis of Robert Armin’s works
This thesis aims to analyse how the mentally disabled was perceived in early modern England, not simply from a social and medical point of view, but also throughout a literary analysis of texts and plays from the late XVI and early XVII centuries. I will be taking into consideration two works of Robert Armin (1563- 1615), comic author and stage actor, member of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. He played different roles in various plays of William Shakespeare, so the most significant characters embodying folly/mental illness will be analysed as well. The first of Armin’s works I will consider is a comedy, The History of the Two Maids of More-Clacke, and I am going to be focusing on the character of John, who is described as an “innocent Ideot that neuer harmed any” in Armin’s second work, A Nest of Ninnies, a pamphlet that is useful to have a better idea of how mental disability was seen back then.
Mental disability
Robert Armin
Early Modern England
William Shakespeare
Elizabethan stage
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12608/44165