Review of: The Automaton in English Renaissance Literature
Résumé
Early modern automata were not exemplars of the new science or a crucial step in a story of technological progress. On the contrary, automata only rarely embodied a mechanistic worldview. More commonly, they were suggestive of magic and were viewed as a source of wonder. The contributors to the book helpfully relate Renaissance automata to a variety of contexts, including matter theory, the Reformation, the theatre, royal entries, magic, pleasure gardens and poetry. They avoid presenting a unitary perspective on automata, allowing for the divergent views of historical actors to come to the fore.
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