Histories of Sexuality and Poetic Narratives - Summary PPT

Histories of Sexuality Central Tenets Meanings of sex, gender, and eroticism are not fixed and eternal, but historical, malleable, and culturally contingent (Gowing): “the gender order is not fixed: it is historical and local” 3 That the meanings, acts, practices, af...

Histories of Sexuality Central Tenets Meanings of sex, gender, and eroticism are not fixed and eternal, but historical, malleable, and culturally contingent (Gowing): “the gender order is not fixed: it is historical and local” 3 That the meanings, acts, practices, affects, etc. assume shape in different historical and cultural contexts Histories of Sexuality Areas of Interest What “counts” (and doesn’t count) as sex Bodily acts or practices Feelings, emotions, affects Fantasies, dreams, etc. Who can do what, when, to whom What sex “means” (and doesn’t mean) Rules & Regulations Cultural Norms Institutions through which these formulated, enforced, contested Terms & Categories Possess their own histories Erotic Scripts, Narratives, Metaphors Sexual Metaphors, Sexual Narratives Metaphor: a compressed analogy that draws a comparison between two things (requires mental work on behalf of reader) Example: Sex-as-Baseball What does this extended metaphor do? How does it encourage “us” to think about specific bodily practices and their broader meanings?  Group Work: AS 36 Questions What do we learn about the speaker? How does the speaker describe/envision his body? What do we learn about Stella? Who is in control here? Varying Schemes Look Up Unknowns Whence: from what place, for what reason Yelden: something yielded, surrendered Ransacked: robbed, plundered Whereto: since, because Razed: utterly destroyed, erased, scraped clean Withal: moreover Stratagems: strategies, sophisticated military plans ‘Scape: Escape Significant Pattern, Metaphor, Image Question, Claim, or Insight Paradox A seeming contradiction that reveals an apparent truth “Sweet/conquering” force Imagery Language that supports a mental picture or image “Love” as her “lieutenant,” raising her banner within him Questions Who is in control here? Final lines (“that not my soul… can escape from thee?”) Love at First Sight Il Canzoniere (Song Book) / Rime Sparse (Scattered Rhymes) 366 Poems of various kind Written in vernacular (Italian) One for every day of the calendar year (leap year) Sonnets (317) Canzoni (29) Sestini (9) Madrigals (4) Ballate (7) Variety of Sources Pagan (Ovid, Plato), Christian Vast majority explore love of/for “Laura” “Chaos in 14 lines” “Italian/Petrarchan Sonnet” Generally 14 lines Octave (two quatrains) Sestet (six lines) Problem and “resolution” Volta as the “turn” Rhyme Scheme Generally ABBAABBA CDECDE Poetic tour de force Displays ingenuity of form and vibrancy of language Technical virtuosity Recurrent tropes & motifs Sidney, AS 36 Individual Poems / Larger Sequence Sonnet Sequence Separate pieces and part of larger collection Profoundly influential English “Sonnet Craze” Sir Philip Sidney, Astrophel and Stella (1591) Samuel Daniel, Delia (1592) Thomas Lodge, Phillis (1594) William Percy, Sonnets to the Fairest Coelia (1594) Richard Barnfield, Greenes Funeralls (1594) ---, Cynthia (1595) Edmund Spenser, Amoretti (1595) Bartholomew Griffin, Fidessa (1596) Shakespeare, Sonnets (1609) Lady Mary Wroth, Pamphilia to Amphilanthus (1621) Key Attributes (Petrarchan Paradigm) Ideal Beloved / Cruel Mistress (female) Utterly unique, beyond compare Unrequited (does not reciprocate) “Cruel” mistress Suffering Speaker (male) Endless suffering as proof of love, devotion, fidelity Loss of sleep, health, self Subjected to Beloved (“slave,” “prisoner”) Masochism  deriving pleasure from suffering Psychological realism Lover’s mind (“Interiority”) Emotional Turbulence Agony / Ecstasy Experience of Time Progress / Stasis Recurring Ideas, Sensations, etc. Power Dynamics; or, Textualizing the “Love Object” Who is in control here? Beloved as “empowered” But also absent, silent Beloved as object vs. subject? Authoring as authority Allows poet to exert control over unruly desire, inaccessible love object Productive Suffering Poetry as wound and cure Beauty in/and Suffering Tension between: “Beautiful” Structure A Strict order B B Rhyme schemes A Italian language A B “Disorderly” Content B A Emotional Turbulence C Pleasure & Pain D E Fraught relations C Idealization & Critique D E The Sound of Suffering Animating Tensions Tension between: ”Beautiful” Structure A Strict order B B Rhyme schemes A Italian language A B “Disorderly” Content B A Emotional Turbulence C Pleasure & Pain D E Fraught relations C Idealization & Critique D E Animating Tensions Individual Poems/Sequence Separate pieces and part of larger collection Each can stand alone But also contribute to a broader story Progress & Stasis Narrative/Chronological Progression Repetition/Return (ideas, sensations Even within the poem itself (i.e. volta) Animating Tensions Individual Poet vs. Tradition English “Sonnet Craze” Sir Philip Sidney, Astrophel and Stella (1591) Samuel Daniel, Delia (1592) Thomas Lodge, Phillis (1594) William Percy, Sonnets to the Fairest Coelia (1594) Richard Barnfield, Greenes Funeralls (1594) ---, Cynthia (1595) Edmund Spenser, Amoretti (1595) Bartholomew Griffin, Fidessa (1596) Shakespeare, Sonnets (1609) Lady Mary Wroth, Pamphilia to Amphilanthus (1621) Relational Structures Petrarchan Template Male Speaker Suffering, devoted, productive Access to his mind/psyche “Authors” beloved Female Beloved / Cruel Mistress (female) Ideal but cruel “Present” but absent Heteroerotic Male/Female, two central figures Unrequited Love Not reciprocated, one-sided Static Productive Suffering Poetry as wound/cure  Critical Synthesis 1. Broadly speaking, what connects these five poems? 2. What do you find most interesting or compelling about these particular works —either individually or as a collective? 3. What must we notice? 4. What must we talk about? Ovid, Metamorphoses (Book X) The king of the gods once loved a Trojan boy Named Ganymede; for once, there was something found That Jove would rather have been than what he was. He made himself an eagle, the only bird Able to bear his thunderbolts, went flying On his false wings, and carried off the youngster Who now, though much against the will of Juno, Tends to the cups of Jove and serves his nectar. The Renaissance Ganymede Stellato, The Zodiac of Life (1561) The son of Tros, king of Phrygia, a boy of passing beauty and feminine countenance, taken up into the skies by an Eagle at Jupiter’s [AKA Jove/Zeus] commandment, and made his butler Anon., The Academy of Pleasure (1656) Jove’s Cup-bearer Blount, Glossographia (1656) The name of a Trojan boy, whom Jupiter so loved (say the poets) [that] he took him up to Heaven, and made him his Cup-bearer. Hence any boy that is loved for carnal abuse, or is hired to be used contrary to nature, to commit the detestable sin of Sodomy is called a Ganymede: an Ingle. “Poetic Language?” What is poetry? (i.e., what makes a poem a “poem?”) Why would a writer express themselves in this manner? (i.e., why not just “get to the point?” A Modern Message? Translate sonnet 6 Steps: 1. Rewrite each line in “normal” language on the right side of the page (NO punctuation) 2. Use slash marks to break into component parts (i.e. lines or clause that go together) 3. Re-introduce punctuation where you see fit The Women Speak Grappling with Patriarchy “Systematic domination of women by men, achieved and maintained through male control of cultural, social, and economic institutions” Political Structure  Male governance in the household, politics, society, etc. Belief system  Male centered  Male as “universal”  Women defined by reference to men (“gender is relational”) Grappling with Patriarchy Key Reminders: The Sexual Renaissance 1. Predominantly male authors  Questions of perspective (Howard)  Ventriloquism  Women writers mostly aristocrats (Wroth), few exceptions (Philips) 2. No cultural or belief system is universal  Look for contradictions, tensions, alternative perspectives, etc.  Resist simplistic binaries (men support patriarchy, women resist it)  Terminology Sex (n.): anatomical, biological distinctions by which cultures differentiate between men and women; (v.): acts or practices associated with sexual intercourse. Gender: prescribed roles, behaviors, and attributes available to—and seen as characteristic of—sexed human beings in particular cultural contexts. Before “Sexuality”  Terminology Sexuality: a mode of being disposed toward others, including but not limited to the direction and scope of erotic preferences  Compare: “the fact of being heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual; sexual orientation” (OED 3, ca. 1897) Eroticism: less a fixed identity derived from the gender of one’s desired object than a field of potential affects, attachments, and practices associated with pleasure, arousal, sexual acts, etc.  Gender of object choice as one variable among many, including erotic identification, fantasy, and preference for specific activities, all of which intermingle and conflict in various ways. Gender in History Conceptual Frameworks Gender as binary One-Sex model Gender Ideals Gender as Process Trans* Early Modern Trans* Shakespeare’s “Master-Mistress”  Between Women Review selected poem Discuss your findings/ideas/questions Tasks Provide a concise summary Identify 2-3 details we should all notice Identify 2-3 interpretive claims to share Identity 2-3 persistent/nagging questions to explore If Time Consider vis-à-vis other poems assigned Body (in) Parts How would you characterize the relationship between the (body) parts and the whole (person)? A Modern Message? Rewrite sonnet 6 as a modern email Steps: 1. What is the point you want to convey? 2. How do you want to convey it? 3. What features do you want to retain—words, rhymes, themes, images, tone, etc.? HOW will you do this? 4. Provide a title for your email! Pamphilia to Amphilanthus Originally circulates in manuscript (hand-written) Published in The Countess of Montgomery’s Urania (1621) Second known sonnet sequence written by a woman Retains “fictional” characters Inverts Gender Binary What happens? The Women Speak Grappling with Patriarchy “Systematic domination of women by men, achieved and maintained through male control of cultural, social, and economic institutions” Political Structure  Male governance in the household, politics, society, etc. Belief system  Male centered  Male as “universal”  Women defined by reference to men (“gender is relational”) Grappling with Patriarchy Key Reminders: The Sexual Renaissance 1. Predominantly male authors  Questions of perspective  Alternative viewpoints  Women writers mostly aristocrats (Wroth), few exceptions (Philips) 2. No cultural or belief system is universal  Look for contradictions, tensions, alternative perspectives, etc.  Painting: Self portrait with Bernardino Campi (Sofonisba Anguissola, 1550)  Toolbox Blazon Topos Simile Extended Metaphor Sensuality The Body Emblazoned Blazon: a poetic topos (e.g. commonplace or convention), where the speaker details the various parts of the beloved’s body Simile: a comparison between two entities via like or as (more explicit than metaphor) Metaphorical Bodies Revisit the extended metaphor and consider: Why a garden? What do we learn about the beloved? Is this a sensual or erotic poem? Why or why not? What kinds of pleasures are on offer here? Where are “you/we” in this poem? What is our relationship to the speaker and beloved?  From the Senses to the Sensual “Sensual” (OED 1) a. Involving gratification of the senses; of, relating to, or arising from physical (esp. sexual) urges or desires and not the intellect or spirit; carnal, fleshly, base. b. In more neutral sense: relating to, characterized by, or involving enjoyment The Senses of Sight and Smell (c. derived from the senses; 1618) physically enjoyable or pleasurable. The Materiality of Metaphor  The Literal Metaphor “Ideal” Beauty (from The Extravagant Shepherd, 1654) Hair as golden wires (also net/trap) Eyebrows arched like Cupid’s arrows / Cupid’s brow Eyes that sparkle like the sun Cheeks of lily (white) and rose (red) Ruby/rose/cherry/coral lips Teeth like pearls Breasts as globes The Male Body Emblazoned  Playing the Tradition How would you compare Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130 (“My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun”) to the other two poems reviewed last night? In what ways is it similar? How is it different? How would you place this poem in the context of the broader sonnet tradition? Playing the Tradition Embodied Geographies Francesca Baerald, 2019 Speakers and Beloveds What do we learn/know about the speaker? How do they characterize themselves? What do we learn/know about the beloved? How does the speaker describe them? How would you describe the dynamic between these two?  “To His Mistress” What kinds of verbs govern this poem? CIRCLE/HIGHLIGHT them What kinds of images and metaphors are introduced? Compile a list, then select ONE and consider how it works (i.e. why this metaphor? What’s being compared? How does it encourage us to understand the speaker, beloved, their dynamic, etc.? Where do we get confused or stuck? What would it help to explore collectively?  The Erotic Appeal How does the speaker attempt to persuade the beloved to get into bed with him? What kinds of appeals does he make? Create a list of the various rhetorical strategies adopted here, then consider: Which, if any, prove most compelling, witty, or ingenious? How and why? Which, if any, prove troubling, offensive, or problematic? How and why? Does he craft a convincing argument? Why or why not? slow down? What are the effects--narrative, erotic, etc.--of this movement? Tone An author’s attitude to their subject matter or audience, the way they present a subject. An author’s tone can be serious, scholarly, humorous, mournful, or ironic, just to name a few examples. Mood The general feeling or atmosphere that a piece of writing creates within the reader. Mood can be produced through the use of setting, theme, voice, tone, etc.  A Playful Appeal? To His Mistress Going to Bed Imperative mood Series of commands (1-17) Sacred and Profane Mingles erotic and religious, Christian and Muslim (18-24) Language of Imperialism/Colonization “O My America!... My kingdom… my empery” (27-29) “License my roving hands, and let them go / Before, behind, between, above, below” (25- 6 Witty Associated with intellect, verbal ingenuity Puns/playfulness/humor “As souls unbodied, bodies unclothed must be” “How blest am I in discovering thee!” “To teach thee, I am naked first; why than, / What needst thou have more covering than a man” Embodied Geographies Europa Regina (Queen Europe), ca. 1500 The Literal Metaphor Embodied Geographies Francesca Baerald, 2019  “New Worlds” / “New Bodies” “Vespucci Arrives in New World” “Africa and America Helping ~Theodor de Bry, 1492 Europe” William Blake, 1757-1827  “Progressing” with Donne In small groups, examine lines 40-72 How does the speaker move through the beloved’s body? Where do we begin? Where do we end? What parts does he catalogue? What kinds of metaphors govern this section of the poem?  “Progressing” with Donne Examine lines 73-96 In these final lines, the speaker proposes a better route (i.e. way to progress towards love’s “aim”). Where does this route begin? Why? What is the telos or endpoint of this route? Of the poem? Homework What kinds of pleasures are described here? For whom? How would you characterize the tone and mood in these poems? Why? Getting Started What features or attributes connect these poems? What did you find most interesting, puzzling, troubling, exciting, etc. about them? What do we need to talk about? Tone An author’s attitude to their subject matter or audience, the way they present a subject. An author’s tone can be serious, scholarly, humorous, mournful, or ironic, just to name a few examples. Mood The general feeling or atmosphere that a piece of writing creates within the reader. Mood can be produced through the use of setting, theme, voice, tone, etc.  From the Senses to the Sensual “Sensual” (OED 1) a. Involving gratification of the senses; of, relating to, or arising from physical (esp. sexual) urges or desires and not the intellect or spirit; carnal, fleshly, base. b. In more neutral sense: relating to, characterized by, or involving enjoyment The Senses of Sight and Smell (c. derived from the senses; 1618) physically enjoyable or pleasurable. Visual Pleasure Are we encouraged to derive from pleasure for looking at other people’s bodies? Under what conditions? What kinds of looking are encouraged/discouraged? Who gets to look? Visual Pleasure Voyeurism The state or condition of being a voyeur (e.g. a person whose sexual desires are satisfied by covert observation of the sex organs or sexual activities of others); scopophilia. Scopophilia Literally, pleasure in/of looking Sexual stimulation or satisfaction derived principally from look  Robert Herrick Hesperides (1648) Singing maidens Lived in a garden beyond the sunset Guarded/mined “fair golden apples” (Hesiod 9) “Mistresses” Julia, Silvia, Perilla, Perenna, Anthea, Electra, Dianeme, Myrrha, Sappho, Oenone, Biancha , &c. Various historical women  Robert Herrick (Looking) Upon Julia… Upon Julia’s Fall (H27) Upon Julia’s Breasts (H230) The Bracelet to Julia (H322) Upon Julia’s Unlacing Herself (H414) Upon the Nipples of Julia’s Breast (H440) Upon Julia’s Hair Filled with Dew (H484) Upon Julia’s Sweat (H719) Upon the Roses in Julia’s bosome (H734) Upon Julia’s Clothes (H779) Upon Julia’s lips (H857) Upon Julia’s Haire (H881) Upon Julia’s washing her self in the river (H939) To Julia (H979) To the Roses in Julia’s Bosom (H1070) Midterm Exam Midterm Exam  Midterm Exam—Suggestions Preparation 1. Review toolbox terms (meanings, examples, significance) 2. Review your in-class notes 3. Review the major topics/ideas explored in class and consider how the assigned poems address them Exam 4. Adhere to the suggested time allotments 5. Spend a few minutes reviewing options, brainstorming points 6. Go through your steps 7. Show me what you have learned to do! Midterm Exam