Course: English 341.01: Renaissance
Studies Students: Freaks, Misfits,
Sociopaths (No, wait! That's just the course
title!) Time: Wednesdays, 1:00 - 3:00
p.m. Place: Sanders 006
Instructor: Foster
Assignments: Studies
Ha! ... Is not the world as 't was--
Once mother of Rapes, Incests, and Sodomies,
Atheism, and Blasphemies--plump boys indeed
That sucked our dams breast! --is she now barren? Ha!
Is there a dearth of villains?
from Thomas Dekker, If It Be Not Good (1612)
Featuring writings by Anne Askew, Richard Barnfield, Francis Beaumont, John Ford, God, Robert Greene, John Marston, Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Middleton, Thomas Nash, William Shakespeare, Edmund Spenser, and sundry others. Selected criminal cases. Literary representations of atheism, child abuse, cross-dressing, homosexuality, incest, misogyny, murder, prostitution, racial difference, rape, physical deformity, witchcraft, state torture and forms of capital punishment. Emphasis on Elizabethan and Jacobean drama. Corollary readings from feminist, psychoanalytic, and materialist criticism.
Course Requirements:
READING
Weekly reading assignment (30 k words); thoughtful engagement with the texts
SPEECH
One in-class presentation of 7-10 minutes
Regular and thoughtful participation in classroom discussion
Oral reading (5 minutes) on last day of class
COMMUNAL ENGAGEMENT
Because we have only 14 sessions, one missed class could affect your grade.
WRITING
Editing assignment
Focused critical response to the weekly readings (200-300 words)
Midterm essay, 2000-2500 words
Final essay, 2000-2500 words (plan a) or a development of midterm essay into a fully developed critical essay of 4000-5000 words (plan b)
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Introduction to the course. January 19
Materials and Methods of Research and Criticism
Reference works
The "OED"The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. Edited by J.A. Simpson, E.S.C. Weiner, et al. Oxford: Clarendon; New York : Oxford Univ. Press, 1989-. (Also available on CD.)
The "STC"A Short-Title Catalogue of Books Printed In England, Scotland, & Ireland and of English Books Printed Abroad, 1475-1640. Edited by Alfred W.Pollard and G. R. Redgrave. 2d ed., rev. enl. by W. A. Jackson F. S. Ferguson, completed by Katharine F. Pantzer. 3 vols. London : Bibliographical Society, 1976-1990. VL Lib Z2002 .P77 1976
"Wing" Short-Title Catalogue of Books Printed in England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and British America, and of English Books Printed in Other Countries, 1641-1700. Edited by Donald G. Wing. 2d ed., rev. and enl. New York: Modern Language Association, 1972-. VL Lib Z2002 xxx
Microfilm resources
Early English Books I (1475-1640) VL Lib. Microfilm Z2002.P77 E26 and (1641-1700) VL Lib. Microfilm Z2002.W5 E27. Ann Arbor: Univ. of Michigan, (195?-199?). Now available online, with access through our library's "Electronic Indexes and Databases" page.
xxredo: To locate primary texts on particular subjects, see EEBO online (below) or browse the library's hard copy of the subject index to the EEB microfilms. Once you have a checklist of STC numbers, look up the reel numbers in the EEBO Cross-Index (Ann Arbor: Univ. of Michigan, 1988) Lib. Z2002.P77 E26
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Online resources
"EEBO" &endash; Early English Books Online (1475-1700). Ann Arbor, Mich.: Univ. of Michigan, 1999-. Online, available at http://iberia.vassar.edu/vcl/online_indexes /index_gateway.html.
"From the first book published in English through the age of Spenser and Shakespeare, this incomparable collection contains over 96,000 titles listed in Pollard & Redgrave's Short-Title Catalogue (1475 - 1640) and Wing's Short-Title Catalogue (1641-1700) ... The information in this collection is presented in the form of online images, as well as downloadable PDF copies." To view documents online, you will need the DJVU plugin; to view the PDF documents, you will need the Acrobat Reader. Plugins available for downloading from the EEBO Web page.
"LiOn"&endash; Literature Online The Home of English and American Literature on the World Wide Web. Alexandria, Va.: Chadwyck-Healey, 1996- Online, available at http:// iberia.vassar.edu/vcl/online_indexes/index_gateway.html.
"Continuously updated.... The 'Master index' and 'Further web resources' are structured indexes to Lion and Internet resources for English and American literature. Lion includes Chadwyck-Healey fulltext databases: English Poetry, English Drama (combining English Verse Drama and English Prose Drama databases), Early English Prose Fiction, Editions and Adaptations of Shakespeare, The Bible in English, ... Lion also includes reference databases: Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature; Bibliography of American Literature; Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged; and Periodicals Contents Index: Literature."
Rare Books Online: Witchcraft in Europe and America. Edited by Mark Dimunation and Edward Peters. Primary Source Media Online, 1999-. Online, available at http://iberia. vassar.edu/vcl/online _indexes/index_gateway.html.
"Witchcraft in Europe and America is a selection of the rarest and most important titles from Cornell’s rare book collection on this subject. This online database includes over 100 works in their entirety. These works range from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century and are in English, Latin, German and other languages. .... The full text of every monograph has been keyed, providing virtually unlimited search options. Each page has a corresponding digital facsimile image, which may be printed and downloaded. Illustrations and original presentations of the materials are thus available. . . ."
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26 January
1. ATHEISTS, BLASPHEMERS, . . .
Presentation: Agnosticism and Atheism, 1475-1640
Presentation: S. Greenblatt, "Marlowe and the Will to Absolute Play" Ren. Self-Fashioning
Readings (32k words, plus Greenblatt):
God 2 Epistle to Timothy, 3.1-7 (KJV, 1611)
God Gospel of Luke 12.45-46 (KJV, 1611)
A. Askew The Examinations (1546; ed. DWF, 1999)
C. Marlowe Tamburlaine, part 1 (ca. 1587, pub. 1590; ed. DWF, 1999)
fr. J. Donne "The First Anniversary" (1611), lines 191-218
A. Gardyne "A Bad Man, or Atheist. [Character] 27." fr. Characters and Essayes (1625; ed. DWF, 1999)
W. Livingston "Bessie Clarkson" (1628; ed. DWF, 1999)
Plus this, on reserve:
fr. S. Greenblatt, "Invisible Bullets: Renaissance Auhority and Its Subversion"
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February 2
2. JEWS and TURKS
Presentation: Jews in England, A.D. 1066 - 1700
Presentation: Critical essay on The Jew of Malta
Readings (30k):
God Book of Deuteronomy, 23.19 (KJV, 1611)
fr. God Gospel of John, chaps. 18-19 (KJV, 1611)
God I Thessalonians, 2.14-15 (KJV, 1611)
fr. Anon. Alphonsus, Emporer of Germany (1604; ed. DWF 1999)
fr. T. Heywood A Challenge for Beauty (1636; ed. DWF 1999)
C. Marlowe The Jew of Malta (ca. 1589, pub. 1633; ed. DWF 1999)
fr. W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice (1594; pub. 1599; Project Gutenberg, 1993)
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February 9
3. BLACKAMOORS, ANTHROPOPHAGI, INDIANS
Presentation: Africans and Indians in England; Racial Mythologies
Presentation: Africans in English and Continental art
Readings (30k):
God Book of Genesis, 9.18-28 (KJV, 1611)
R. Johnson fr. The Seven Champions of Christendom, Part 2 (1597; ed. DWF 1999)
fr. W. Shakespeare The Merchant of Venice (1594; pub. 1599, 1623; Project Gutenberg, 1993)
fr. W. Shakespeare Othello (1604; pub. 1622, 1623; Project Gutenberg, 1993)
Reserve:
Michael Neill "Unproper Beds: Race, Adultery, and the Hideous in Othello," Shakespeare Quarterly 40 (Winter 1989): 383-412.
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February 16
4. WITCHES, ASTROLOGERS, NECROLOGISTS, . . .
Presentation: The Witch and English booksellers, 1475-1640 (woodcuts, polemics, newssheets)
Presentation: Critical essay on Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay
Readings (30k):
God Book of Deuteronomy, 18.9-12 (KJV, 1611)
God Book of Exodus, 22.18 (KJV, 1611)
Misc. "Witches" [fr. various sources] (ed. DWF 1999)
R. Greene Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay (ca. 1589, pub. 1594; ed. DWF 1999)
Anon. The Notorious Life of John Lamb (1628; ed. DWF 1999)
Handout: ballad about the murder of Dr. Lamb
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February 23
5. FREAKS, PRODIGIES, METAMORPHOSES, . . .
Presentation: Renaissance Monstrosities (the cultural work done by 16th and 17th century "Freak" Literature)
Presentation: Psychology/Sociology of the Monstrous Body
Readings (36k):
fr. E. Spenser The Faerie Queene (1590; ed. DWF 1999)
fr. W Gamage Linsi-Woolsie (1613)
B. Jonson Volpone (1607 [Q1]; ed. DWF 1999)
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March 1
6. HERMAPHRODITES, ANDROGYNES, CROSHABILES, . . .
Presentation: Criminalization of Misdressing
Presentation: Cross-Dressing Onstage And Off
Readings (35k):
God Book of Deuteronomy, 22.5 (KJV, 1611)
T. Peend Hermaphroditus and Salmacis (1565; ed. DWF 1999)
F. Beaumont Salmacis and Hermaphroditus (1602; ed. DWF 1999)
T. Middleton "Ingling Pyander," fr. Micro-Cynicon: Sixe Snarling Satires (1599; ed. DWF 1999)
fr. W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1599-1601, pub. 1623; Project Gutenberg, 1993)
fr. J. Healey, fr. "The Description of Shee-landt," Discovery of a New World (1609; ed. DWF)
Midterm essay due, with grace period till Monday morning, 10 a.m.
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March 3-19 Spring Break
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March 22
7. JOVES and GANYMEDES
Presentation: Sodomy and the law, 1475-1640
Presentation: Ganymede and St. Sebastian in Renaissance art
Readings (25k):
fr. God Books of 1 & 2 Samuel (KJV, 1611)
fr. B. Googe The Zodiake of Life (1565; ed. DWF 1999)
C. Marlowe Prologue to Dido, Queen of Carthage (1594; ed. DWF 1999)
C. Marlowe "Hero and Leander" (1593; pub. 1598; ed. DWF 1999)
C. Marlowe "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" (c. 1591; ed. DWF 1999)
fr. B. Barnes Parthenophe and Parthenope (1593); ed. DWF 1999)
fr. R. Barnfield The Affectionate Shepherd (1595; ed. DWF 1999)
fr. W. Burton, trans. The Most Delectable and Pleasaunt History of Clitiphon and Leucippe, by Achilles Tatius (1597; ed. DWF 1999).
fr. Anon. The Jests of George Peele (1597; ed. DWF 1999)
fr. R. Barnfield Cynthia (1598; ed. DWF 1999)
fr. W. Shakespeare As You Like It (1599; pub. 1623; Project Gutenberg, 1993)
L. Machin, "Apollo and Hyacinth" (1607; ed. DWF 1999)
fr. J. Dowland Lyrics from Lyric Airs (1612; ed. DWF 1999)
T. Ravenscroft "Of Enamoring" (1614; ed. DWF 1999)
fr. T. Collins The Teares of Love (1615; ed. DWF 1999)
fr. T. Bancroft Two Bookes of Epigrammes (1639; ed. DWF 1999)
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March 29
8. SODOMITES, INGLES, TRIBADES, . . .
Presentation: Royal Deviants (Edward 2, James I)
Presentation: Marlowe's and Derek Jarman's Edward II (1992)
Readings (25k):
God Book of Leviticus, 18.22-23; 20.13 (KJV, 1611)
God Book of Genesis, 18:16 - 19:38 (KJV, 1611)
fr. W. Barlow "Watkyn. and Jeffrey," Read Me and Be Not Wroth (1528; ed. DWF 1999)
cont. next page
fr. B. Googe "Egloga prima," Eglogs, Epytaphes, and Sonettes (1563; ed. DWF 1999)
B. Rich "Pasquin’s Invective against the Lascivious Pope and his Lecherous Clergy," Don Simonides, Tome 2 (1584; ed. DWF 1999)
fr. H. Peacham "Crimina gravissima," Minerva Britanna (1612)
fr. R. Corbett "Satire 6," The Times' Whistle (1615)
fr. R.Hayman "Look on this side Luther," fr. Epigrammes (before 1634): repr. in Mirror of the New Reformation(1635)
Misc. Libelous verses (1620s; ed. DWF 1999)
C. Marlowe Edward 2 (c. 1590; pub . 1594; ed. Ule)
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April 5
9. INCESTORS
Presentation: Freud on the Incest Taboo
Presentation: E. Jones, "The Oedipus Complex as an Explanation of Hamlet's Mystery: A Study in Motive" (1910)
Readings (26k, plus Adelman essay):
God Book of Leviticus, 18.5-18 (KJV, 1611)
God Book of Leviticus, 20.11-22 (KJV, 1611)
God Book of Genesis 19.12-38 (KJV, 1611)
fr. Anon. The History of Hamblet (1608; ed. DWF 1999)
fr. W. Shakespeare Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (1600; Project Gutenberg, 1993)
W. Barkstead, Mirrha, Mother of Adonis (1607; ed. DWF 1999)
fr. Wilkins & Shakespeare, Pericles (1606? pub. 1608; ed. DWF 1999)
Reserve reading:
J. Adelman "Man and Wife is One Flesh: Hamlet and the Confrontation with the Maternal Body," Suffocating Mothers (1992).
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April 12
10. WHORES, SHREWS, . . .
Presentation: Prostitution in England, 1475-1640
Presentation: Critical essay on Tis Pity She's a Whore
Readings(30k):
God Book of Nahum, 3.1-6 (KJV, 1611)
God Book of Deuteronomy, 23.17-18 (KJV, 1611)
fr. God, Book of Hosea, chaps. 1, 3, 14 (KJV, 1611)
T. Nashe "Choosing of Valentines" (1593; ed. DWF 1999)
fr. J. Marston Scourge of Villainy (1607; ed. DWF 1999)
fr. W. Goddard fr. A Mastif Whelp (1599; ed. DWF 1999)
fr. J. Healey, fr. "Fooliana the Fat," Discovery of a New World (1609)
fr. G. Markham The Famous Whore, or Noble Curtizan (1609; ed. DWF)
fr. R. Corbett fr. "Satire 6," The Times' Whistle (1615)
Misc., Bawdy verses (from various 17th Century mss., ed. DWF)
J. Ford 'Tis Pity She's a Whore (1633; ed. DWF 1999)
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April 19
11. RAPISTS, PREDATORS, . . .
Presentation: Rape and the law, 1475-1640
Presentation: Rape as Erotic Art (Sabine women, Prosperine, Lucrece, et al.)
Readings (30k):
God Book Deuteronomy, 22.23-29 (KJV, 1611)
God Book of Judges, 19-21 (KJV, 1611)
W. Shakespeare Titus Andronicus (1594, 1623; Project Gutenberg, 1993)
A. Touchet et al. "The Touchet Women" (1631; ed. DWF 1999)
R. Gomersall "The Levite’s Revenge," Poems (1633; ed. DWF 1999)
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April 26
12. BUTCHERS and MURTHERERS
Presentation: Capital punishment in England, 1475-1640
Presentation: Ideologies of "Justice": Divine, State, Private, and Poetic
Readings (29k, plus James (Dell) and Trat murders)
God Book of Exodus 20.13 (KJV, 1611)
15-1828 ses (from various mss.,God Book of Exodus 32.26-28 (KJV, 1611)
15-1828 ses (from various mss.,God Book of Numbers, 25.15-18 (KJV, 1611)
15-1828 ses (from various mss.,fr. God Book of Joshua, chap. 10-11 (KJV, 1611)
fr. God Book of Judges, 1.4-19 (KJV, 1611)
fr. God Books of 2 Samuel 12 and 1 Chronicles 19-20
fr. God Book of Jeremiah, chap. 27 (KJV, 1611)
Anon. Arden of Feversham (1592; ed. DWF 1999)
T. Middleton A Yorkshire Tragedy (1608; ed. DWF 1999)
Anon., The Most Cruel and Bloody Murder Committed by an Innkeeper's Wife (1606)
Anon., The Crying Murther ... and Most Horrible Butcher of Mr. Trat, Curate of Old Cleave (1624)
Final paper due May 3, with grace period till the end of study week
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May 3
13. Edited readings