All entries for November 2009

Rodomontade

I don’t know if anyone was listening to Morrissey on Desert Island Discs this morning but he and Kirsty Young were, at one point, trying to remember what ‘Rodomontade’ means.

Hester Pulter (who we’ll be looking at after Christmas) uses the term in her romance, ‘The Unfortunate Florinda’. It’s a reference to a character from two other romances: Rodomont, a Turk and king of Algeria, appears in Bioardo’s Italian epic poem Orlando Innamorato and in Ariosto’s continuation of Bioardo’s poem Orlando Furioso, which was translated into English by James Harington, queen Elizabeth’s godson, and the father of Pulter’s brother-in-law, John Harington. As a character Rodomont is a vainglorious braggart and the name ‘Rodomont’ came to be used as a term for a boaster or a braggart (OED) while the term ‘Rodomontade’ was used to refer to boastful behavior (OED).

The image above is an illustration of Rodomont from a c16th edition of Orlando Furioso. For more pictures click here.

Alice Eardley : 29 Nov 2009 13:42 |  Comments (3) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Rhetoric

Rhetoric is the application of reason to imagination “for the better moving of the will.” Francis Bacon

It’s come to my attention that while we keep talking about ‘rhetoric’ in lectures and seminars not everyone is clear about what it is actually is.

To find out more, first read this: http://www.stanford.edu/dept/english/courses/sites/lunsford/pages/defs.htm

Then have a look at this: http://humanities.byu.edu/rhetoric/Silva.htm
(‘sesquipedalian’ means “Of words and expressions (after Horace’s sesquipedalia verba ‘words a foot and a half long’, A.P. 97): Of many syllables”, OED I also like the fact that it can refer to people a foot and a half tall).

The image on the left is of the Lady of Rhetoric; an explanation of the different symbols and references in the picture can be found here: http://im.bradley.edu/ell/303/lady.html

Alice Eardley : 28 Nov 2009 16:39 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Epicureanism

Ask not—we cannot know—what end the gods have set for you, for me; nor attempt the Babylonian reckonings Leuconoë. How much better to endure whatever comes, whether Jupiter grants us additional winters or whether this is our last, which now wears out the Tuscan Sea upon the barrier of the cliffs! Be wise, strain the wine; and since life is brief, prune back far-reaching hopes! Even while we speak, envious time has passed: pluck the day, putting as little trust as possible in tomorrow!

Horace, ‘Carpe Diem’

This came up in the seminars on Thursday and is relevant for next week’s session on the Cavaliers.

For some useful information see: http://www.epicurus.net/ But bear in mind that c17th Epicureanism is inevitably a bit different.

Alice Eardley : 28 Nov 2009 12:00 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Next Week: Cavalier Poets

Preparation for Next Week:

As usual, the reading in bold type is a compulsory part of the course and everything else is optional but highly recommended.

- Read the selection of Cavalier poetry on the handout I distributed in class.

Points to think about:
- Identify the similarities between the poems produced by each poet. You may want to think about theme/style/references.
- How do each of the poets use literary references? Are there any common themes?
- How can these common themes/literary allusions be linked to royalism and the political climate of 1640s England.

Optional secondary reading:

- It would be useful to think about the religious and political climate of 1640s England. You might want to read chapters 6 and 7 of Kishlansky: ‘Rebellion and Civil War, 1637-1644’ and ‘Civil War and Revolution, 1645-1649’. Or David L. Smith, A History of the Modern British Isles 1603-1707, chapters 5, 6, 7.

Really useful website: http://www.british-civil-wars.co.uk/index.htm

Alice Eardley : 28 Nov 2009 11:49 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

The World's Oldest Pencil…

... guess when it was made! There’s a photo here: http://www.pencilpages.com/gallery/oldest.htm

Alice Eardley : 24 Nov 2009 15:27 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Selfhood and the Seventeenth Century

“For the historian of philosophy or political thought … [m]ethodologically, there is a reluctance to employ the idea of the self as a tool to unlock the structure either of texts, or of social practices, which do not in themselves use such a concept. To examine how languages and discourses themselves were employed and adapted, to make sense of and influence the world, should be the goal of the intellectual historian.”

Those of you who had a good go at me about the self in seventeenth-century literature last week might want to take a look at this:

Geoff Baldwin, ‘Individual and Self in the Late Renaissance’, The Historical Journal 44.2 (2001), pp. 341-364
Online access available here

It provides a good over-view of the different ways scholars in history, political theory and literary studies have explored the idea of the ‘individual’ and the ‘self’ during the Renaissance.

Those of you who weren’t present to see me getting slowly but surely backed into a corner might want to look at this anyway and we can talk about it next week…

Alice Eardley : 10 Nov 2009 17:30 |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Next Week: Herbert

Preparation for After Reading Week:

As usual, the reading in bold type is a compulsory part of the course and everything else is optional but highly recommended.

Read the selection of Herbert’s poems in the Norton Anthology.

Points to think about:

- What impressions of God emerge from Herbert’s text? With what roles/figures is he identified? How does Herbert address him?
- What idea do you get of Herbert’s ideas about poetry and literary creativity? Is this reflected in the style and content of his own poems?
- Which aspects of the text would you identify as Calvinist?
- Are there aspects of the text which are difficult to reconcile with a Calvinist perspective?

Optional secondary reading:

- Elizabeth’s essay on Herbert that can be found on the course website.
- It might also be useful to think about the religious and political climate of 1630s England. Useful chapters to look at are: Chapter 5 of Kishlansky ‘The Reign of Charles I, 1629-1637’ or David L. Smith, A History of the Modern British Isles, Chapter 4 ‘The Personal Rule of Charles I’.

Unassessed essays are due to be submitted in the first seminar after Reading Week.
Information about these, including titles, can be found on the course website. if you have any questions at all, feel free to get in touch.

Alice Eardley : 06 Nov 2009 11:01 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem