Cupid in early modern literature and culture / Jane Kingsley-Smith.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kingsley-Smith, Jane, 1973-

Contributor:

Horace Howard Furness Memorial Library (University of Pennsylvania)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

English literature--Early modern, 1500-1700--History and criticism.

English literature.

Desire in literature.

Cupid (Roman deity)--In literature.

Cupid.

Love in literature.

Sex role in literature.

Art in literature.

Iconoclasm in literature.

Iconoclasm--England--16th century.

Iconoclasm.

England.

Art and literature--England--History--16th century.

Art and literature.

History.

Physical Description:

x, 264 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2010.

Summary:

"Cupid became a popular figure in the literary and visual culture of post-Reformation England. He served to articulate and debate the new Protestant theory of desire, inspiring a dark version of love tragedy in which Cupid kills. But he was also implicated in other controversies, as the object of idolatrous, Catholic worship and as an adversary to female rule: Elizabeth I's encounters with Cupid were a crucial feature of her image-construction and changed subtly throughout her reign. Covering a wide variety of material such as paintings, emblems and jewellery, but focusing mainly on poetry and drama, including works by Sidney, Shakespeare, Marlowe and Spenser, Kingsley-Smith illuminates the Protestant struggle to categorise and control desire and the ways in which Cupid disrupted this process. An original perspective on early modern desire, the book will appeal to anyone interested in the literature, drama, gender politics and art history of the English Renaissance"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: Introduction; 1. Cupid, art and idolatry; 2. Cupid, death and tragedy; 3. Cupid, chastity and rebellious women; 4. Cupid and the boy: the pleasure and pain of boy-love; 5. 'Cupid and Psyche': the return of the sacred?.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780521767613

052176761X

OCLC:

617495429

Online:

Cover image