Jez Butterworth'z Jerusalem and the Spirit of Liberty

Abstract: This essay is an attempt to conduct a reading of Jerusalem by Jez Butterworth through the lens of cultural materialism with John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty as intertext. The essay conducts a brief survey of previous scholarly treatment of the play, explains the theoretical background of cultural materialism that the essay operates on, and briefly introduces the intertext. The treatment itself is based around the invocation of historical and mythical roots in the play, exploring the relevant parts of the intertext, interspersed with close reading of the play itself. The essay culminates in the understanding that the climax and ending of the play is not an end to the concept of liberty evoked in the play, but that it is a call to action for it. While the play offers no unproblematic image which could guide the direction of action, it does offer liberty as a guiding principle.