REPRESENTATIONS OF THE MUSLIM WOMAN ON THE ENGLISH RENAISSANCE STAGE

Öz

In this essay I discuss the evolving representation of Muslim women in English Renaissance drama. Unlike later Orientalist narratives, early modern texts portray Muslim women with complexity and nuance. I trace the development of these representations from medieval literature, where Muslim women are often depicted as assertive, noble figures, to early modern plays that reflect England's emerging political and economic relations with the Ottoman Empire. I argue that while Muslim women in Renaissance drama embody the wealth and power of the Islamic world, they are also shaped by patriarchal and religious anxieties. By examining key plays, I aim to shed light on how these depictions both challenged and reinforced Western ideologies of gender, power, and cultural difference.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Muslim women
• Renaissance drama
• Anglo-Ottoman relations
• Tamburlaine

Kaynakça

1. Brooks, C. (1957). Tamburlaine and Attitudes Toward Women. ELH 24(1), 1-11.
2. Burton, J. (2005). Traffic and Turning: Islam and English Drama 1579 – 1624. Newark: University of Delaware Press.
3. Chew, S. (1937) The Crescent and the Rose: Islam and England During the Renaissance. Oxford: Clanderon.
4. Dimmock, M. (2016). New Turkes: Dramatizing Islam and the Ottomans in Early Modern England. New York: Routledge.
5. Kahf, M. (1999). Western Representations of the Muslim Woman. Texas: University of Texas Press.
6. MacLean G. M. and Matar, N. (2011) Britain and the Islamic World, 1558-1713. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
7. Matar, N. (1998) Islam in Britain, 1558 - 1685. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
8. Matar, N. (1993). The Renegade in English Seventeenth Century Imagination. Studies in Literature (Rice), 33(3), 489-516.

9. Said, E. (1978). Orientalism. New York: Vintage.
10. Senior, C. M. (1976). A Nation of Pirates: English Piracy in Its Heyday. New York: Crane Russack.
11. Shepherd, S. (1986) Marlowe and the Politics of Elizabethan Theatre, Brighton: Harvester Press.
12. Vitkus, D. (2000). The Three Turk Plays from Early Modern England. New York: Columbia University Press.