This course focuses on the drama and poetry of the second half of the English Renaissance. Both the public and private spheres deeply concern our authors, who took great care with self-presentation, yet also sought a way to characterize the self when it was not on show. Women and their role in society were frequently considered by these writers, who were male but very much aware of their gender privilege. We will examine the interrelation between love and death in the period, evident in our writers' strategies to transcend mortality and recuperate erotic love, hardly a positive value at the time. Throughout the course, the historical context of the literature will inform our exploration. Our theoretical foundation will be recent scholarship on social space, which will complicate our understanding of the cultural moment. We will also be learning how writers used literary techniques to mediate their relation to the audience; while some posed as writers of spontaneous discourse, others performed a more self-conscious––and perhaps more honest––role that acknowledged the audiences they wrote for.
- Teacher: Jennifer Low