Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Devilish Leaders, Demonic Parliaments, And Diabolical Rebels: The Political Devil And Nationalistic Rhetoric From Malmesbury To Milton, Karra Hk Shimabukuro

English Language and Literature ETDs

Throughout its history, England and its writers have created its national identity out of thin air. Some writers such as William of Malmesbury and John Milton have consciously constructed their imagined Englands, while other authors during the medieval and early modern periods are subtler, but whose works reflect the historical and cultural moment, the fears, desires, and anxieties about kingship, tyranny, heirs, and stability, that existed during that time. Little scholarship has focused on the devil’s role in these constructions, his political nature, and how this nature is used in constructing nationalistic arguments. This devil can lead kings, nobles, and …