earticle

영어

By showcasing and analyzing three separate texts from the English Civil War (The King’s Cabinet Opened; Eikon Basilike; A Fiery Flying Roll), this paper explores how the radical shift of print culture after the collapse of state censorship reflected on and strengthened the crisis of the symbolic order in the domains of politics. The King’s Cabinet Opened exemplifies the Parliament’s new approach to the use of print. By sending King Charles’ private documents and letters to print, the Parliament attempted to turn public sentiments against King Charles, thereby finding a more effective way of undermining his authority and power. Eikon Basilike is a sort of counter attack on the part of King Charles to justify his kingship by using the same print media with a view of an emerging readership constituted of common people. King Charles used Eikon Basilike as a prop to shine his final performance at the stage of Whitehall to complete his self-fashioning as a martyr. A Fiery Flying Roll, the third piece under examination, tells us that the exploitation of print to weaken the symbolic power of established authority was not limited to disagreements between elite groups. Against Coppe’s apocalyptic vision announced clearly in the pamphlet speaks the fact that print was now embraced even among socially and politically marginalized groups to challenge the basic premises of hierarchical society that had hitherto suppressed their utopian dreams. In conclusion, these writings are the landmarks attesting to a dramatic increase in the use of print as a deconstructive force to subvert the established order and power, anticipating the arrival of post-modern cultural practices of the late 20th century.