Sarah Beckwith Books

Tracing the changing speech patterns of confession and absolution in Shakespeare's work.

The book presents a materialist analysis of religious texts, highlighting their significant cultural contributions. Focusing on works like The Book of Margery Kempe, the author, Beckwith, explores how these texts shape and reflect societal values and beliefs, revealing their deeper implications in cultural contexts.

The York Corpus Christi plays, a significant theatrical tradition in English history, are examined as a form of "sacramental theater" that intertwined politics and theology. Beckwith argues that these plays, performed from 1376 until the late 1500s, functioned as a means to regulate labor and explore concepts of eucharistic presence and absence. Her analysis extends to the Reformation's impact on these performances and their cultural implications. By connecting historical and contemporary contexts, the work engages multiple academic disciplines and highlights the enduring relevance of this theatrical heritage.