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“We are of the Sea!”

“We are of the Sea!” The figure of the renegade has been widely discussed in the field of early modern literary studies, with scholars situating rogue behavior within discourses of race, religion, and nationalism. However, these perspectives have not adequately addressed how domestic discourses of class and labor also shaped representations of renegades. My paper fills this gap by paying particular attention to English anxieties about vagrancy, a domestic phenomenon that manifested itself in new forms abroad, among pirates, apostates, and other traitors operating outside the geographical boundaries of the English state. Specifically, I examine the figure of Captain John Ward in Robert Daborne’s play A Christian Turned Turk (pub. 1612), in order to demonstrate previously overlooked connections between Ward’s reputation and his actual background as a lowly fisherman and conscripted sailor. This paper, by closely examining how the play and its sources construct Ward as a masterless man, sheds new light on the neglected issues of class and labor in the construction of the early modern English renegade. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Explorations in Renaissance Culture Brill

“We are of the Sea!”

Explorations in Renaissance Culture , Volume 41 (2): 178 – Dec 1, 2015

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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© 2015 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
Subject
Articles
ISSN
0098-2474
eISSN
2352-6963
DOI
10.1163/23526963-04102003
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

The figure of the renegade has been widely discussed in the field of early modern literary studies, with scholars situating rogue behavior within discourses of race, religion, and nationalism. However, these perspectives have not adequately addressed how domestic discourses of class and labor also shaped representations of renegades. My paper fills this gap by paying particular attention to English anxieties about vagrancy, a domestic phenomenon that manifested itself in new forms abroad, among pirates, apostates, and other traitors operating outside the geographical boundaries of the English state. Specifically, I examine the figure of Captain John Ward in Robert Daborne’s play A Christian Turned Turk (pub. 1612), in order to demonstrate previously overlooked connections between Ward’s reputation and his actual background as a lowly fisherman and conscripted sailor. This paper, by closely examining how the play and its sources construct Ward as a masterless man, sheds new light on the neglected issues of class and labor in the construction of the early modern English renegade.

Journal

Explorations in Renaissance CultureBrill

Published: Dec 1, 2015

Keywords: renegade; Piracy; class; labor; Turk; Captain John Ward; Daborne; English drama

References