Cambridge Scholars Publishing The Ottoman Turks in English Heroic Plays

Product Description Contesting the argument that Restoration-period drama referred almost exclusively to domestic social and political issues, this text interrogates the extent to which seventeenth century heroic plays justify and perpetuate stereotypical representations of the Ottoman Turks in Western discourse. It provides a comprehensive account of representation of “the Other” based on difference. Joining historical discussions ranging from the Ottoman Empire’s rise as a world power to the development of British imperial ideology, the book asserts that dramatic texts and production provide a rich and unexamined archive in which the issues of representation, difference, and cultural stereotyping are attendant on the emergence of imperial figure largely. This account not only deciphers representation of the Ottoman Turks based on simplification and stereotyping in dramatic representations, but also throws light on the most pressing political issues of seventeenth century England, including revolution, regicide, and restoration, dramatized in the guise of the Ottoman Turks and Ottoman history. The book’s attention to the Ottoman-related themes of a number of plays decisively redraws the map of Restoration drama. About the Author Işıl Şahin Gülter is currently teaching at Fırat University, Turkey. She holds a BA from the Department of American Culture and Literature of Hacettepe University, Turkey, and a PhD (Integrated) from the Department of English Language and Literature of İstanbul Yeni Yüzyıl University, Turkey. Her current areas of interest are colonized and gendered spaces in Early Modern and Restoration-period dramatic productions. She has published a number of journal articles on these issues.