Dark Prisms : Occultism in Hispanic Drama

by Lima, Robert

• ISBN13: 9780813119090
• ISBN10: 081311909X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1995-07-27
• Publisher: Univ Pr of Kentucky

Summary

" The mythological, folkloric, and religious beliefs of Western culture have resulted in a long and ongoing history of esoteric themes in theatre from the Middle Ages to the present in Spain and the America. Now Robert Lima, a noted comparatist, brings to bear on this material his wide knowledge of the world of the occult. Lima defines the terms "occult" and "occultism" broadly to embrace the many ways in which humans have sought to fathom a secret knowledge held to be accessible only through such supernatural agencies as alchemy, angelology, asceticism, astrology, demonolatry, divination, ecstasy, magic, necromancy, possession, Santeria, séances, voudoun, and witchcraft. The dramatic works covered range from medieval materializations of Hell to the Golden Age plays of Lope de vega, Tirso de Molina, and Calderón de la Barca, to modern stage works by Valle-Inclán, García Lorca, Casona, Miras, and a number of significant Afro-Brazilian and Caribbean dramatists. The concluding comprehensive bibliography of the drama of the occult is invaluable.

Author Biography

Robert Lima is professor of Spanish and comparative literature and fellow of the Institute for the Arts and Humanistic Studies at Pennsylvania State University.

Table of Contents

Preface
Supernaturalism in Medieval Spanish Drama	p. 3
Esoterica in the Golden Age Drama of Spain	p. 15
The Demonic Pact and the Quest for Esoteric Knowledge	p. 28
Ancient Ways: Occult Lore in the Plays of Ramon del Valle-Inclan	p. 49
Toward the Dionysiac: Pagan Elements and Rites in Federico Garcia Lorca's "Yerma"	p. 69
The Devil in the Blood: Genesis and Subversion of the Demonic Pact in Alejandro Casona	p. 88
Illuminati, Devils, and Witches: The Unholy Plays of Domingo Miras	p. 95
The Orishas of Ife: African Deities in Cuban and Brazilian Drama	p. 115
Drama of the Occult: A Bibliography of Spanish and Latin American Plays	p. 137
Notes	p. 164
Works Cited	p. 177
Index	p. 183
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