크리스토퍼 말로의 『디도, 카르타고의 여왕』에 재현된 폭력성과 르네상스 영국의 소년 극단

Violence represented in Christopher Marlowe’s Dido, Queen of Carthage and Children’s Companies in Renaissance England

This paper examines violence represented in Christopher Marlowe’s Dido, Queen of Carthage. This play was performed by the Children of the Chapel that was one of the most famous children’s companies in Renaissance England. It should be noted that the boy players in the children’s companies were exposed to sexual violence, i.e. pedophilia as well as physical violence. Many of the boy players were kidnapped by “child catchers” and were forced to perform on the stage for the “titillation” of male audiences, which was not illegal in early modern England. The situation of boy players in the children’s companies is analogous to that of boy characters in Dido, Queen of Carthage. Ganymede, who is the most symbolic character in the play, is kidnapped by Jupiter to play with him while Ascanius and Cupid are forced to play their parts by adult characters. Therefore, it is undeniable that this play implies violence inflicted on boy players in Renaissance England.