Literature in English, British Isles Commons^™

From Russia With Love: Souvenirs And Political Alliance In Martha Wilmot’S The Russian Journals, Pamela Buck

English Faculty Publications

Although virtually unknown in literary studies today, Martha Wilmot's The Russian Journals remains an important text on the material circulation of things in an increasingly global eighteenth-century world.The Russian Journals describes her stay in Russia from 1803 to 1808 with family friend and powerful political figure Princess Dashkova. In particular, the souvenirs that she exchanges with Princess Dashkova shed light on how cultural and political connections were formed between Russia and Britain as well as how national identity was redefined on a more global scale.

The Medieval Dark Horse: Challenge And Reward In The Middle English Lyric, Andrew S. Marvin

English Faculty Publications

“The Medieval Dark Horse: Challenge and Reward in the Middle English Lyric” explores the genre’s history and literary merits while addressing the question of why this valuable and extensive body of literature has largely gone untapped by scholars.

The introductory sections detail the historical and modern contexts of the lyric, including the state of scholarship, manuscripts, editions, dating issues, purpose, audience, types of lyrics, and themes. This background informs a discussion of the genre’s difficulties and offers solutions with which to counter them. Close readings of eight poems are included to exemplify the lyric’s thematic range, stylistic diversity, and literary …

Writers And Critics At The Dinner Table: Tristram Shandy As Conversational Model, Cynthia N. Malone

English Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Arrest Of Caleb Williams: Unnatural Crime, Constructive Violence, And Overwhelming Terror In Late Eighteenth-Century England, Gary Dyer

English Faculty Publications

In the later eighteenth century, the twelve justices of the supreme English common law courts ruled repeatedly that blackmailing a man by threatening to accuse him of sodomitical practices constituted the capital offense of robbery; the judges focused on the overwhelming terror they claimed was unique to this threat. This legal doctrine is a covert presence in William Godwin's novel Caleb Williams (1794). Ferdinando Falkland, fearing that his secret is about to be revealed by Caleb, accuses him of having 'robbed' him, and even though Falkland's secret is literally murder, the mutual persecution and mutual terrorizing that ensue evoke the …

Aesthetics And Ideology In Felicia Hemans's The Forest Sanctuary: A Biocultural Perspective, Nancy Easterlin

English Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Clock And A Companion Poem To Marvell's 'To His Coy Mistress', Matthew Harkins

English Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Force Or Fraud: British Seduction Stories And The Problem Of Resistance, 1660-1760, By Toni Bowers. (Review), Rachel Carnell, Toni Bowers

English Faculty Publications

A review of the book "Force or Fraud: British Seduction Stories and the Problem of Resistance, 1660-1760," by Toni Bowers is presented.

Spirits, Vitality, And Creation In The Poetics Of Tommaso Campanella And John Donne, Anthony P. Russell

English Faculty Publications

In discussions over the meaning of "genius" in the Renaissance, there is at the very least agreement that the term was associated with heightened powers of perception and creativity. Whether defined in terms of Neoplatonic notions of inspiration, Aristotelian/Galenic theories of the humors (and of melancholy in particular), or rhetorical theories of invention, ingegno is acknowledged as having denoted an unusual mental energy and flexibility which facilitated the creative process. It is the psychic mobility with which ingegno was consistently linked that I intend to emphasize here, and in particular its frequent identification with those volatile spirits that were centrally …

Romantic Transports: Tabitha Tenney's Female Quixotism In Transatlantic Context, Rachel Carnell, Alison Tracy Hale

English Faculty Publications

A literary criticism of several books including "Female Quixotism" by Tabitha Tenney, "The Female Quixote" by Charlotte Lennox, and "Angelina" by Maria Edgeworth is presented. According to the authors, these novels constitute a transatlantic genre which highlights the moral and cultural complexities faced by women in the 18th and 19th centuries. Particular focus is given to the novels' political contexts. Realism, the French Revolution, and republican government are also discussed.

The Protestant Whore: Courtesan Narrative & Religious Controversy In England, 1680-1750 (Review), Rachel K. Carnell

English Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Defoe And The Project Of "Neighbors Fare", Joanne Myers

English Faculty Publications

This article argues that Daniel Defoe’s essay, Upon Projects (1695), works to imagine and restore neighborly connections amongst people increasingly distances from one another due to social and economic changes in Restoration life. Although Defoe’s novels are often understood to promote a typically modern individualism, his social-improvement projects present an alternative view of Defoe as committed to a robust sociability.

Book Review: Women And Ireland As Beckett's Lost Others, Jennifer Jeffers

English Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Seduction Narrative In Britain By Katherine Binhammer. (Review), Rachel Carnell, Katherine Binhammer

English Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Review Of Early Modern Nationalism And Milton's England By David Loewenstein And Paul Stevens, Brooke Conti

English Faculty Publications

The article reviews the book Early Modern Nationalism and Milton's England, edited by Paul Stevens and David Loewenstein.

The Mediterranean Apprenticeship Of British Slavery, By Gustav Ungerer. Madrid: Editorial Verbum, 2008 (Book Review), Imtiaz Habib

English Faculty Publications

The article reviews the book "The Mediterranean Apprenticeship of British Slavery," by Gustav Ungerer.

Benjamin, Joyce, And The Disappearance Of The Dead, Graham Macphee

English Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Review Of The Voice Of The Hammer: The Meaning Of Work In Middle English Literature, Gregory M. Sadlek

English Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

“A Young Voice, A Statue, And Marvell's 'The Nymph Complaining', Matthew Harkins

English Faculty Publications

The allegorical flexibility of Marvell's ‘The Nymph Complaining for the Death of Her Fawn’ is consonant both with shifting ideas of youth in early modern England and with Marvell's complicated fascination with the young. A companion poem by Marvell's contemporary, Thomas Philipott, also describes how a young nymph in a garden turns into a weeping statue: the differences between these two poems underscore how Marvell's young narrator, rather than satisfying familiar interpretive practices, prompts investigation into the cultural implications of these practices. Ultimately, the poem reconsiders the nature of pastoral and the consequences of circumscribing the voices of the young.

Review Of The Literary Culture Of The Reformation: Grammar And Grace / Liturgy And Literature In The Making Of Protestant England By Brian Cummings And Timothy Rosendale, Brooke Conti

English Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Making “Young Hamlet”, Matthew Harkins

English Faculty Publications

While youth’s subordinate position in Hamlet has played a vital role within the play’s critical tradition, this tradition has not questioned the ideological processes that create “youth” as a social category—that define what youth means, whom it includes, and why. Rather than portray an archetypal contest between the young and the old or portray Hamlet’s developmental progression from youth to maturity, the play examines the production and application of these categories as political phenomena. By exposing the circumscribed logic that produces these categories, Hamlet fractures the ideological justifications for early modern constructions of youth and age.

The Anachronistic Shrews, James J. Marino

English Faculty Publications

A single line in the Folio text of The Taming of the Shrew seems to point to dates decades apart. A performer identified by his speech heading as 'Sinklo,' the actor John Sincklo or Sincler, recalls a stage character named 'Soto,' presumably the character from John Fletcher's Women Pleased. Sinklo's name is used to argue for an early date for the play, sometimes as early as 1592, while the allusion to Soto suggests a date around 1620. Scholars intent on setting an early date for the 1623 text and on preserving its priority to the 1594 Taming of a Shrew …

'That Which Marreth All': Constancy And Gender In The Virtuous Octavia, Yvonne Bruce

English Faculty Publications

This article reports on the play "The Virtuous Octavia," by Samuel Brandon, and the role of women in it. The article discusses the play in relation to the feminine ideal of the Christian Stoic, noting its role as a model for women in literature and drama. Information is also provided on constancy, suffering, and verse.

Delarivier Manley's Possible Children By John Tilly, Rachel Carnell

English Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Review Of Milton In Popular Culture By Laura Lunger Knoppers And Gregory M Colón, Brooke Conti

English Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Devotions: Popular And Critical Reception, Brooke Conti

English Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Racial Impersonation On The Elizabethan Stage: The Case Of Shakespeare Playing Aaron, Imtiaz Habib

English Faculty Publications

The article focuses on the implications of playwright William Shakespeare performing racial roles himself, such as Aaron in "Titus Andronicus." Several plays are discussed, including "Titus Andronicus," "The Merchant of Venice," and "Othello." The SHAXICON database, which compiles the text of Shakespeare's plays, is the primary source of evidence to suggest Shakespeare acted in his plays. Information about race relations in Great Britain's society during Shakespeare's time is also given.

Under English Eyes: The Disappearance Of Irishness In Conrad's The Secret Agent, Graham Macphee

English Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Performing Remediation: The Minstrel, The Camera, And The Octoroon, Adam Sonstegard

English Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

English Ethnicity And Race In Early Modern Drama, By Mary Floyd-Wilson. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003 (Book Review), Imtiaz Habib

English Faculty Publications

The article reviews the book "English Ethnicity and Race in Early Modern Drama," by Mary Floyd-Wilson.

Vital Disconnection In Howards End, Leslie T. White

English Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.