And, of course, Donne's "On his Mistresse, going to bed" "My America, my
new found land" (or something like that), and before that, the scene in
OF where Angelica is bound naked on a rock and Ruggero can't work the
buckles on his armor.
Anne Prescott wrote:
> I too had thought of the Miller's Tale--and all the more because there
> was more nudity in the Middle Ages than we always remember, esp. (I
> imagine) before the Little Ice Age started. I read an article
> somewhere about the surprising persistence, even after the fall of
> Rome, of public baths--you could go through the street starkers while
> clutching your clothes. As for H&L I always get nervous about claims
> of priority because I'd like a medievalist to confirm it. Of course
> Marlowe translated Ovid's /Amores/--there's nudity and lying around in
> bed there too. If anyone ever wants an English Renaissance picture of
> a nearly naked guy (just a hat and a loincloth) try the opening
> illustration of Andrew Borde's /The Introduction of Knowledge/, which
> has an almost nude Englishman with a large pair of shears about to cut
> himself some foreign fashion. But my point is simply that we may need
> a medievalist to confirm Marlowe's priority--not a modest period (not
> with talking genitalia, at least in France; at least in H&L it's human
> beings who talk, not their naughty bits).
> And I bet Venus and Mars were naked when Vulcan threw his net
> over them and summoned all the gods to laugh. But nudity remains a
> good topic--you could also quote Herrick on his mistress, telling her
> "away with silks, away with lawn, / I'll have no scenes or curtains
> drawn. / Give me my mistress as she is, / Dressed in her nak'd
> simplicities." And there's Aretino's "I Positi" or whatever with the
> illustrations of naked lovers. As I point out to my students in a
> course on Eros in the Renaissance, the poor lady sometimes has a
> really pained expression. Comparing nudity in Marlowe and in paintings
> might be fun, too. And see /Amores/ I.5--if he tears her clothes off
> then I bet he's naked too, although he coyly leaves the rest to our
> imagination.
> Sorry to jabber on. A fascinating topic, and the stuff on Gawain
> is something I hadn't thought of. Anne.
>
> On Apr 15, 2010, at 10:16 AM, John Leonard wrote:
>
>> 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]
>> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
>> To: <[log in to unmask]
>> <mailto:[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] <mailto:[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]>
>>>> <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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