The depiction of Anabaptist religious sects in select sixteenth and seventeenth century literature: Nashe, Marston, and Dryden

Making use of Northrop Frye's mythic paradigm of "concern" and "freedom," this study pursues an historical contextualization of the depiction of Anabaptist religious dissent as it is depicted in select literatures of Thomas Nashe, John Marston, and John Dryden. In general the paradigm posits opposing forces of social/religious conservatism (concern) and referentially driven dissenting forces of revision (freedom) and the conflict between them which frequently ensues.;The overall intent of the study is twofold. First, to place into context the rise of Anabaptism in the early years of the Reformation and its impact on European and English society. Second, the study examines select passages of the works of Nashe, Marston, and Dryden to hypothesize why these writers may have been interested in polemically attacking the Anabaptists in their writings.;Chapter One of the study outlines the specific workings of the paradigm and presents the literatures of the selected authors for consideration.;Chapter Two presents a brief history of the roots of the Reformation and the rise of dissenting radicalism within the very ranks of the reforming Lutheran protest.;Chapters Three through Five analyze the select passages of each author which deal with Anabaptism. Nashe's novella The Unfortunate Traveller is first to be considered, and is the prose account of Jack Wilton's adventures which takes him to the famed Anabaptist uprising at Muenster. Marston's play The Malcontent presents the playwright's objections to "politic religion" and indirectly condemns the sexual aberrations of one of the most radical of the dissenting religious groups often associated with the Anabaptists. Finally, Dryden's polemically laden poem The Hind and the Panther lists the Anabaptists in its famed "beastly gallery" with particular vituperativeness. The extremism of Dryden's polemic is discussed with regard to his new-found Roman Catholic faith.;The Conclusion discusses some implications of the paradigm of concern and freedom, and suggests possible directions for further study.;A list of works cited appears after the conclusion.