Introduction
Kempe Studies
The Performative Turn
The Dissertation
Chapter One Butler and Medieval Performativity
From Shakespeare to Butler:The World as Stage
The Theatre of Faith:Margery's Christian-ness as Performance
Chapter Two Late Medieval Cacophony and the Birth of “This Creature”
Butler Trouble
The Never-Solo Land of Margery Kempe
The Birth of a Free-Lance Mystic
Chapter Three The Politics of Speech
Mystical Speech and Austinian Performativity
Speech Felicitous and the Management of Performatives
Speech Infelicitous:Erasure and Penalties
Chapter Four The Poetics of Dissent
New Perforrnatives and the New Theatre
Secular Places,Sacred Space
Dressing Up,Dressing Down
Bodies That Litter
Chapter Five The Poetry of Silence
Silence vs.Silences
The Right of Silence
The Rhythm of Noise
Conclusion
Appendix
Bibliography