Edward II and a Literature of Same-Sex Love: The Gay King in Fiction, 1590–1640 is a well-researched, well-organized and overall important analysis of representations of same-sex love in early modern English literature.

- Jerry Pierce, Penn State Hazleton,

Edward II and a Literature of Same-Sex Love’ is a an enchanting, fabulous and innovative account of the gay king in fiction; Michael G. Cornelius succeeds in putting together a thorough examination of chronicle sources and earlier texts, as they all come together to communicate a gay identity. Queer dreams were certainly made of Edward II. 

- Anna Foka, Umeå University,

The narrative re-tellings of the life, reign, and death of the English King Edward II (reigned 1307–1327) present a unique opportunity for scholars of sexuality in the early modern era. This is because the works of authors like Christopher Marlowe, Michael Drayton, Sir Francis Hubert, Elizabeth Cary, and Richard Niccols were all inspired by the public, cultural memory fashioned from Edward’s same-sex love affair with Piers Gaveston. As such, each of them presents a particular representation of and a specific discourse about male-male sexual relations in the Renaissance. In other words, what these works present is a concentrated body of literature about same-sex love in the early modern era: works that openly and frankly explore the possible origins of the love, the reasons and causes for it; works that explore the ramifications of male-male romantic relationships; works that explore the sexual politics and sociocultural dynamics of same-sex romantic partnerships; and works that describe and denote same-sex love from an English Renaissance perspective. This study looks at each of the major Renaissance texts about Edward II and examines the means through which each text understands and analyzes the nature of male-male same-sex love. From Marlowe’s crafting of a lover-identity for Edward to Drayton’s obsession with Marlowe’s version of (gay) history; from Hubert’s Augustinian construction of Edward’s nature to Cary’s identification with the fallen king to Niccols’ inspired exemplum, what each of these works demonstrates is that the “love that dare not speak its name” would not be silenced, at least not in the case of Edward and Gaveston. When one sees the name Edward II, one also sees his same-sex loves. The correlation has become ingrained into our public recall of history. Thus, as far as the world is concerned, Edward II was—and ever will be—the gay king.
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Introduction Chapter 1: Sexuality as Silence Representing Edward II in Medieval English Literature Chapter 2: Sexuality as Identity A King, A Lover, and a Crisis of Identity in Christopher Marlowe’s Edward II Chapter 3: Sexuality as History Understanding Michael Drayton’s Obsession Chapter 4: Sexuality as (Flawed) Nature “Let Edward be the subject of thy pen:” Augustinian Character and Contradiction in Sir Francis Hubert’s The Historie of Edward the Second Chapter 5: Sexuality as Disease Identification and The Role of “Defense” in Elizabeth Cary’s The History of the Life, Reign, and Death of Edward II Chapter 6: Sexuality as (Political, Moral, Cultural) Exemplum? The Strange Case of Edward II in Richard Niccols’ Mirror for Magistrates Conclusion The Doom and Promise of History
Les mer
Edward II and a Literature of Same-Sex Love: The Gay King in Fiction, 1590–1640 is a well-researched, well-organized and overall important analysis of representations of same-sex love in early modern English literature.
Les mer

Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9781498534581
Publisert
2016-10-21
Utgiver
Vendor
Lexington Books
Vekt
617 gr
Høyde
239 mm
Bredde
157 mm
Dybde
28 mm
Aldersnivå
P, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
302

Biographical note

Michael G. Cornelius is chair of the Department of English and Communications at Wilson College