Beneath the Crescent: Unveiling Political Allegories About Muslims in Elkanah Settle's The Empress of Morocco

Abstract

This study challenges the traditional critical commentary on the negative representation of Muslims in Restoration drama– as simply reflecting anti-Muslim sentiment at the time. Utilizing a new historicist approach, the researchers argue that playwrights like Elkanah Settle used Muslim characters and settings allegorically to address anxieties surrounding the sexual and political climate of Charles II's court. Analyzing Settle's The Empress of Morocco (1673) as a case study, the text demonstrates how depictions of lascivious Moors served as veiled critiques of the King's libertine lifestyle and the perceived moral corruption within the court. Furthermore, the new historicist lens reveals how Restoration playwrights in general employed Muslim characters as a smokescreen to comment on contemporary English politics, using them not just to reflect existing attitudes but to explore the complex interplay between cultural anxieties and political power. Thus, this study underscores the significance of analyzing early modern drama with respect to the internal sexual debates and power dynamics of British society.