Dear Raphael,
Are you sure that Bertilak's wife slips naked into bed with Gawain? If she
did that, Gawain's test would be much blunter than I have always taken it to
be. It may well be the case (indeed I think it is the case) that Gawain is
naked under the sheets, but she does not see his nakedness even though she
puts him in an embarrassing position. But she herself is surely clothed and
she sits on the edge of the bed (doesn't she?), which is not the same as
getting into it. When she says "ye are welcum to my cors" there is a saving
ambiguity (beautifully discussed by John Burrow) that allows her words to
mean "you are a welcome guest and I am at your service" rather than "here is
my body. Help yourself". If she were naked in the bed with Gawain, her
words would be sharpened away from ambiguity and the delicacy of the comedy
would be lost. But Gawain's (hidden) nakedness is suggestive and I think it
can be connected with Hero's attempt to hide her nakedness under the sheets
in H&L. Thanks for making the connection!
All best,
John
----- Original Message -----
From: "Raphael Falco" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, April 15, 2010 8:41 AM
Subject: Re: Paper topics on Hero and Leander
> Not to quibble--nakedness is an excellent topic linking Marlowe and
> Milton--but don't Nicholas and Alisoun appear naked (more or less) in The
> Miller's Tale? Or aren't they naked enough? There's also Sir Gawain and
> the Green Knight, where Bertilak's wife slips naked into bed with Gawain.
> Best,
> Raphael
>
> Raphael Falco
> Professor of English
> University of Maryland, Baltimore County
> 1000 Hilltop Circle
> Baltimore, MD 21250
> Tel: 410-455-2919
> Fax: 410-455-1030
> [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
> John Leonard wrote:
>> i have just returned from Venice to find this super question in my
>> mailbox. A topic that I find very useful (especially for a question
>> linking Marlowe and MIlton) is nakedness. H &L is perhaps the first poem
>> in English in which the two main characters appear naked (albeit not at
>> the same time) and this makes for lively comparison with Milton's Adam
>> and Eve (Milton's lament "O how unlike to that first naked glory" is a
>> direct echo of Marlowe, and the Marlovian phrase to which he
>> alludes--"where Venus in her naked glory strove / To please"--also
>> influences another of Milton's memorable descriptions of nakedness:
>> the fairest goddess feigned
>> Of three that in Mount Ida naked strove
>> Marlovian nakedness can also be related to questions about shame,
>> modesty, embarrassment, pride etc. etc. Students love to write on this
>> topic and their essays are actually fun to read.
>> Best,
>> John Leonard
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> *From:* william oram <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>> *To:* [log in to unmask]
>> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>> *Sent:* Wednesday, April 07, 2010 2:13 PM
>> *Subject:* Paper topics on Hero and Leander
>>
>> Does anyone have any interesting paper topics on Hero and Leander?
>> I'm out of inspiration. Bill Oram
>
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