Joseph William Sterrett

This article explores an oddly dependent relationship between censorship and confession. Comparing the way that Shakespeare's fictional villainous moor, Aaron, confesses his crimes to the confessions of real-life villains like the Earl of Essex or, more recently, Ian Brady, Myra Hindley, Fred and Rosemary West, reveals an odd relationship of trust between the confessant and their audience who need to hear what they have to say. The relationship challenges previous assessments of trust expressed by Foucault and Beckwith. The act of censorship, as palpable for Aaron as it was for Ian Brady, highlights the limits of that trust and how vulnerable we really are to violent acts of articulation.