The Name of Grim: Tracing the Character of Grim the Collier in Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century English Theatre

Grim the Collier is a curious comic character who receives little critical attention. Grim appears in three key plays, sixteenth- and seventeenth-century pamphlets, herbals, and ballad culture. This article examines, and rejects, Grim as a potentially useful figure for environmental awareness. I dis...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inEarly theatre Vol. 24; no. 2; pp. 55 - 71
Main Author Seymour, Laura
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Hamilton Early Theatre 01.12.2021
McMaster University Press
Subjects
British drama
Characters (Roles)
Fictitious characters
Satan
Theater
United Kingdom
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Summary:Grim the Collier is a curious comic character who receives little critical attention. Grim appears in three key plays, sixteenth- and seventeenth-century pamphlets, herbals, and ballad culture. This article examines, and rejects, Grim as a potentially useful figure for environmental awareness. I dispel legends about the basis of this character, and examine how the labile significance of the name 'Grim' implicates it in networks of superficial similarity between devils, colliers, and racialized black skin. These networks link to the proverb that underlies most early modern depictions of Grim: 'like will to like quoth the devil to the collier'.
ISSN:1206-9078
1206-9078
2293-7609
DOI:10.12745/et.24.2.4534