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Literature and Theology 2001 15(2):123-139; doi:10.1093/litthe/15.2.123
© 2001 by Oxford University Press
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STAGING THE INCARNATION: REVISIONING AUGUSTINE'S CRITIQUE OF THEATRE1

James K.A. Smith

This paper reconsiders Augustine's critique of theatre in light of his own affirmation of three key dogmatic themes the goodness of creation, the centrality of the Incarnation, and the promise of resurrection Central to these themes is a fundamental affirmation of embodiment and materiality which undoes his (largely Platonic) critique of drama. The paper first analyses both his ontological critique of theatre (trafficking in images and therefore consorting with nothingness) and ethical critique of drama (for arousing the passions), I then argue that the dogmatic themes above open the space for an affirmative Augustinian account of theatre as part of a broader Christian aesthetic grounded in an incamational (rather than participatory) ontology.


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