Fun Fact/Questionable...

http://www.tarcherbooks.net/?p=1481&fb_source=message

A friend of mine sent me a link the other day with this article attached. I was telling her about Edmund Spenser and his pathetic brown-nosing, and brought up the fact that he was a stone cold Puritan. We began discussing the Puritan lifestyle since Thanksgiving was right around the corner, and I mentioned that according to our classroom discussions, being a Puritan meant sucking the fun out of everything. I told her that according to many poems and texts we had ben reading, Puritans did not partake in drinking, theater, any kind of under-belly-tavern-life, patries, dancing, etc... I read her the notes from class on the poetic discourse between Piers and Palinode in Spenser's Maye, and we talked about how boring the first Thanksgiving must have been without wine and Yahtzee. Needless to say, she found the above article just days later and sent it to me.

The article is short, but basically gives statistics of the amount (quite large) of alcohol that the Puritans consumed. According to this article the Puritans went a little drink crazy at EACH, and even brought tons of alcohol (of all kinds) over to the New World from England. I am hoping that this might start a dialogue that unmasks the "true" English Puritan. I am fascinated with the idea that these people are what we compare to modern day Amish, and yet it seems there are so many contradictory ideas of who they were and how they lived their lives.

English Renaissance Book

Well, after reading bits and pieces of the English Renaissance book that we have as a part of our texts for the class, I found some pretty interesting stuff! I recommend searching your topic in the index and working from there because the topics are pretty intertwined throughout the book. One excerpt that I found in the introduction of the "Gender and Sexuality" section reads, "The one biblical exception to the unalloyed subordinate status accorded to women was the verse in Galatians: 'there is neither Jew no Greek, there is either bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye all are one in Christ Jesus.'" Not only had I used this biblical reference in my first paper, but it was one that was quoted from Elizabeth in one of her speeches! Without trying to freak out and have and "English student moment," I think that this is a testament to Elizabeth's fabulous way of uses legitimate sources and her extensive knowledge to make a case for the strength of women. What do you say?

--Alexa Foster

From Elizabeth to James

deLisle, Lianda. After Elizabeth: The Rise of James of Scotland and the Struggle for the Throne of England. Westminster, Maryland: Balantine Books, 2006. Electronic Copy.

This book is available through electronic format at our own Whitworth Library! Yes, folks, it is true. There is plenty of helpful material in this book. It is an electronic copy and I have not been able to find how to look at the images that it lists in the beginning, but for those of you working on the imagery of Elizabeth, the list of images this book provides would be useful for you. Even if the book itself does not contain the images, use this book as a reference to other possible imagery of Elizabeth after her death. I found it by searching "Elizabeth and James I" in the library search function. Happy researching!

Kelly

Retrospective Views on Elizabeth

Hi Friends,

One of my interlibrary loan books contains a large portion of text that gives retrospective analysis of Elizabeth's reign. I have found it helpful in analyzing the transition from Elizabeth to James and the implications of her powerful reign in the reigns of those who followed her. The book is entitled, Elizabeth I: War and Politics, 1588-1603 by Wallace MacCaffrey. The final two chapters focus on the Anglo-Irish political relationship, an influential factor in how James would rule. The book in general could add unique perspectives on the way Elizabeth was portrayed as a woman who was charged with being Supreme Protector over England. I have the book if anyone would be interested in looking through it!

Kelly

"Urania" Findings!

Wilson, Jean. "Queen Elizabeth I as Urania." Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 69 (2006): 151-173 . Print.

Well, we can all tell what I have been doing over break: research.

Mary Wroth's "Urania", which I referred to in my presentation, was the architectural piece that hints at the differences between female and male interests and patterns of thinking. While men are often consumed with the ideas that deal with worldly and outside matters, females are concerned with the self and the near surroundings (according to the text). In the JSTOR article "Elizabeth as Urania," the speaker talks about her presence in architecture during that time, almost to infer that her legacy exists beyond the self and more in the outside world. One excerpt tells about the sphere (one example of architecture) as "exemplifying the relationship between Elizabeth and her courtiers--'one of the satellites orbiting a heavenly body in perfect harmony" (162). Because my paper does not include much of this architectural evidence of her legacy thus far, I found this sections greatly intriguing.


--Alexa

Win Borrow FINALLY!

Dobson, Michael, and Nicola J. Watson. England's Elizabeth: an afterlife in fame and fantasy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. Print.

Hello there! I hope you are all having a fabulous thanksgiving! I finally took the time to look through my find through WinBorrow (which I might say I wish I had found a long time ago!!). In the book England's Elizabeth: an afterlife in fame and fantasy, there are chapters entitled "The Queen is Dead Long Live the Queen" and "Elizabeth Modernized" that I found particularly helpful. Another chapter called "Gloriana Revived" relates her to the figure of Gloriana in Spenser's The Faerie Queen. An excerpt reads, "Spenser's Faerie Queen has embroidered around Elizabeth's image--in which she hymed as Gloriana, Arthur's destined bride, the once and future queen destined to return in Britain's hour of need" (48). While this book supports the claims of womenly power, it also produces the opposing viewpoint and thus, functions for both arguments.

Let me know if you want to borrow this to take some scans and such :)

--Alexa

Watkins, John. Representing Elizabeth in Stuart England. UK: Cambridge University Press. 2002. Print.

If you are writing a paper that has anything to do with the representation of Elizabeth in Stuart England this will be a great book for you! The book outlines how Elizabeth image in James’s time was a paradox on one hand she was described as a “courageous defender of the faith” (2). While, on the other hand she was “wrathful, vindictive, bigoted… and vain about her looks” (2). There are many good quotes supporting either side of the debate. It also argues that, “Elizabeth was also the perfect model of the tragic individual pitted against a hostel social order.” (3) Elizabeth both experienced the oppression of the time and also created it during her rule. The book also disagrees that the people of Stuart England were only nostalgic for Elizabeth. There were many who argued against her and for James.

Defoe, Daniel. Conjugal Lewdness. Florida: Scholars’ Facsimiles & Reprints, 1927. Print.

The book is written give advice to marriages both those who already have one and those who are going to be marrying. For those who are already married the book outlines how to stay chaste and modest in relationship. It also warns men against cheating on their wives or being abusive in the treatment of women. Child bearing should not be prevented also the book holds a reform view that enforces the negative aspects of arranged marriages. Instead of arranged marriage you should have love and friendship with the person you are planning to marry. Also disproportionate marriages are a very bad idea, especially those in age, as this encourages infidelity. Over all if you’re looking for a book that chastises men this may be a good place to look.

Shakespeare in love

In this modern movie representation of Shakespeare the writers are trying to go for a representation of a play within a play. Not only are they telling the story of Shakespeare but the movie is also paralleling the story that they are acting in the movie, Romeo and Juliet. The story starts out much like Romeo and Juliet in that it begins like a comedy. Just the title of the play he is trying to write is humorous, Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter. The story also starts out making fun of love just like Romeo we are laughing as Shakespeare makes bad puns about the his ‘dry quill’ that can’t write anymore. The story follows Shakespeare played with a fondness for sexual innuendos.

We also see other hints of Shakespeare’s plays in the gender changing of Viola who is pretending to be Mr. Kent. This is an interesting interpretation of how Shakespeare came up with the idea of gender switching. But it doesn’t really hold up because he had already written other plays about the same idea such as, Comedy of Errors. But the romance of course ends tragically and Viola is taken away to the new world but not before inspiring Twelfth Night and Shakespeare’s next heroine aptly named viola.

The story was very well told and amusingly written. It reminded me of Volpone in the fact that Viola’s marriage and Shakespeare’s financial relationships with his patrons seemed a lot like prostitution. This is especially evident in Viola’s case because she is giving up her pure reputation to act in the play with Shakespeare. Though the story and play is about love it has a common theme for the fact that we all prostitute ourselves for something, sometimes love.

Whately, William. A Bride Bush. Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, 1975. Print

This book was written in 1617 to outlines what attitudes a man and women need to have for a happy marriage. Specifically it quotes the Bible to defend claims of subordination of women to men. It also outlines the demands on men to be loving kind and gentle to their wives. This piece shows strongly the belief that women were under men.

The book addresses the fact that the newly married couple should live together. It also calls men to faithfulness and forbearance in regard to violent behavior. The men are to be the king in the family and rule kindly over his subjects/family. Over all, the book is a protestant sermon commenting on the new family and sexual expectations of the church of the reformation. If this is of interest to you, you may also want to look at Prostitute and Marketplace in Seventh-Century Holland.

Froide, Amy. Never Married. New York: Oxford Press, 2005. Print.

This book outlines the representation of single women, virginity and widowhood from 1550-1800’s. In the book it outlines how over though Elizabeth was greatly revered and even praised for her virginity. Staying unmarried was not something Elizabeth encouraged. Even more the Elizabeth’s, protestant, church created very negative view points of singleness.

The church even went so far to say that “single persons were viewed as likely candidates for damnation” (157). The church made it almost impossible to be single in this time period. The bias became so aggressive that a common proverb at the time was “old maids lead apes in hell” (158). The book also outlines how the theater, especially Shakespeare’s plays gave a negative view of singleness. There was even believed to be a disease that came from women remaining unmarried for to long.

Voicing Women

A few days ago I received via interlibrary loan the book Voicing Women: Gender and Sexuality in Early Modern Writing. This is a great book with a lot in it to add to any of our paper topics. It's a collection of essays by various authors that all focus on different aspects of how women were portrayed before and after Elizabeth, and especially the rising amount of women authors and art that was intended for female audiences. Here are some of the essays in the book that might be useful, "Women Writers and Women Readers: The Case of Aemilia Lanier" by Jacquelin Pearson, "The Canonization of Elizabeth Cary" by Stephanie Wright, The torture of Limena: Sex and Violence in Mary Wroth's Urania" by Helen Hackett, Iconography of the Blush: Marian Literature of the 1630's" by Danielle Clark, "Playing 'the Masculine Part': Finding a difference within Behn's Poetry" by Bronwen Price, "Read within: Gender, Cultural Difference and Quaker Women's Travel Narratives" by Susan Wiseman, "Contra-dictions: WOmen as Figures of exclusion and resistance in John Bunyan and Agnes Beaumont's Narratives" by Tamsin Sargo, and "Seditious Sisterhood: Women Publishers of Opposition Literature at the Restoration" by Maureen Bell. Just a side note, but I wonder if Agnes Beaumont has anything to do with Francis Beaumont. This is an excellent book for anybody looking into the portrayal of women and their role in the art world of Early Modern England. I have the book right now if anyone wants to borrow it.

Punxsutawney Phil

Hi friends,

Just in case you were interested, I did a little research on Groundhog Day. It's based off the German holiday of Candlemas that bears similar ideas to what we now call Groundhog Day. Now, Punxsutawney Phil's predictions are shared with the world from Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. For more information, visit this website:

http://pittsburgh.about.com/cs/punxsutawney/a/groundhog_day.htm.

Proud to be American?

Oh yes.

-Kelly

WOMEN!

Here's a list of the books I've checked out from the library. If any of them sound good to you, comment which one and I'll bring it into class for you to peruse. Without further ado:

Women of the Renaissance
Women and Literature in Britain: 1500-1700
Writing Women in Jacobean England
Enacting Gender on the English Renaissance Stage
Shakespeare and the Drama of His Time
Women's Agency in Early Modern Britain (Doug brought this one to class and I took it home)
Erotic Politics: Desire on the Renaissance Stage

I would list topics of interest for each one, but they're pretty loyal to their titles. If any of them sounds interesting but you're not sure, looking them up in Amazon.com is a good way to read about the book and find a list of it's chapters and articles available.

More e-books in the library

Royal Poetrie, Peter C. Hernan

Vernacular Bodies,Mary Fissell

Religion and Society in Early Modern England,  Cressy and Ferrell

Popular Politics and the English Reformation, Ethan Shagon

Some e-books we have through the library

King James I and the Religious Culture of England, James Doelman

James I, Christopher Durston

Literature, Satire, and the Early Stuart State, Andrew Mc Rae

Representation and Misrepresentation in Later Stuart Britain, Mark Knights

Lines of Equity, Eliott Visconsi

Early Stuart Masques,  B. Ravelhofer

Godly Clery in Early Stuart England, Tom Webster

Translating Investments, Judith Anderson

Stuart England, Angus Stroud

Colonial Women, Heidi Hutner.

In Light of Prostitution...

My first essay discusses the movement of women's rights that Queen Elizabeth I (unknowingly?) instigated during her reign. One of the articles I read from the good ole Renaissance Life and Culture mentioned a play that I just recently read. The article in the book discussed cunning ways women would trick the patriarch's of their household into believing they were making the most of their time with contructive household chores or with sewing, knitting, etc... But after hearing the title of the play I decided I was interested in knowing more. 'Tis a Pity She's a Whore by John Ford was performed during the 1630s. It was the controversial soap opera version of the Spanish Tragedy. Involving incest, betrayal, murder, masqued dancers, illegitimate pregnancies, and so many confusing Italian names, this play covers a lot of ground. Perhaps commenting on the dirty under belley of English culture at the time, Ford managed to both criticize noble wealth and the royal bloodline. Ultimately, Ford left this play out of his collected works. He was probably embarrassed by the production of what can be compared to an on stage version of Beverly Hills 90210.

Five Plays of the English Renaissance
Edited by Bernard Beckerman
It's in the Whitworth library, guys!

Volpone: The [chipmunk voice] Cartoon

Hey All,

I mentioned last week that I had found a quirky cartoon Volpone on youtube. Here's the link, it's a little weird at times (Celia is a goldfish...) but over all I think the artist did a pretty good job summing up the story and turning it into a teenage friendly cartoon. I just hope high schoolers aren't watching this instead of reading the actual text...Also Sir Politic is not included. Sad. In any case...enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OohRcg0Hz_A

Large Sourcebook on Renaissance Women

One book from the library that I've found to be an excellent source is Renaissance Woman: A Sourcebook edited by Kate Aughterson. This book is a large collection of original sources written during the Renaissance about women. The chapters cover various subjects including Theology, Physiology, Conduct, Sexuality & Motherhood, Politics & Law, Education, Work, Writing & Speaking, and Proto- Feminisms. With all these different topics this book should prove useful to any study concerning women during Renaissance England. The book is especially valuable because it is all original sources, so it is a catalog of different views and opinions about what amounts to almost every aspect of a Renaissance woman's life. Some authors and works in this book that we have talked about in class are Anne Askew and her examination, John Calvin, James I, and Queen Elizabeth herself. Also included are sources Renaissance readers would have had access to such as Aristotle's Politics and other works. This is a small book that covers a lot about Renaissance women, and it would most likely have useful material for any of the groups' topics.

Also, if anybody wants to take a look back to Elizabeth I and her works, there is a tv series on netflix now called "Elizabeth R." It's an old british show from the 80's or 90's I think. The show covers all of Elizabeth's life, pre-queenhood and all. It has reenactments of many speeches and she even reads some of her poems/ prayers. I followed along in the book to the golden speech, and the show is almost word for word. It also provides an intersting look at how people looked during the Renaissance, or at least Elizabeth. The show goes all out with her many health issues, showing her teeth to be brown and her face a heap of make-up. From what I watched the show did a good job of telling the story of Elizabeth's life, and seems to be concerned at least somewhat with historical accuracy.

-Augie

Duties of Women 1797

Gisborne, Thomas. An enquiry into the duties of the female sex. Garland Publishing. New York: 1974

Written in 1797 by Thomas Gisborne with a new introduction written by Gina Luria. Gisborne was known for writing a book earlier in 1794 entitled, “enquiry into the duties of men in the higher and middle classes of society”. This book is a companion to that study outlining the duties of women at that time. The book covers many topics having to do with women of the time. A list of the Chapter titles are:
1) General grounds of the importance of the female character briefly stated
2) On the peculiar features by which the character of the female mind is naturally discriminated from that of the other sex
3) On female education
4) Of the mode of introducing young women into general society
5) On female conversation and epistolary correspondence
6) Remarks on propensity to imitation- on dress
7) On amusements in general – masquerades- the efficacy of individual example considered
8) Theatrical entertainment musical entertainments, Sunday concerts, dancing, gaming and cards – on excess in the pursuit of amusements
9) On the employment of time
10) Considerations antecedent to marriage
11) On the duties of matrimonial life
12) Duties of matrimonial life continued, with a view to the different situations and circumstances of different individuals
13) On parental duties
14) Further remarks on the duties belonging to the middle period of life
15) On the duties of the decline of life
The text does have an odd habit of replacing the s’s with f’s so it is a little hard to read but it shows insight into the time. Many of the ideas are related back to the bible. It also has some books it references for further reading from the time period.