Transgressive Language in Medieval English Drama

Insults, abuse, oaths, scatological and bawdy language- these form the subject of Lynn Forest-Hill's new study on 'bad' language in the late Middle Ages. She demonstrates how, in medieval mystery plays and morality plays, dramatists used outrageous language with great sophistication and subtlety to create characterisations and define characters' moral status, to reflect on social conditions, to condemn social evils, and to comment upon sensitive cultural, political, and religious...
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Insults, abuse, oaths, scatological and bawdy language- these form the subject of Lynn Forest-Hill's new study on 'bad' language in the late Middle Ages. She demonstrates how, in medieval mystery plays and morality plays, dramatists used outrageous language with great sophistication and subtlety to create characterisations and define characters' moral status, to reflect on social conditions, to condemn social evils, and to comment upon sensitive cultural, political, and religious topics of the 16th century.