The most salient example, since it
comes up as part of an internally
assumed "costumi" or character, is
perhaps Edgar as Tom o' Bedlam in King
Lear: if males count (as surely they
must, given that they also play the
women's parts). It is strongly
alluded to ("poor naked wretches ...
is that the naked fellow...? ... Bring
some covering for this naked soul ...
Sirrah, naked fellow"), and it causes
shame in company. The illustration
tradition for the Divine Comedy shows
the sinners naked, and this brings one
to the point of Edgar's nakedness,
insofar as it illustrates Job's "naked
I came out of my mother's womb, naked
shall I return thither: the Lord gave,
and the Lord hath taken away..." The
souls in Dante, when entering the hell
of Inferno III, are clothed with their
virtual bodies, but these are "lasse e
nude" (exhausted and naked), and they
curse the seed of their sowing and of
their nativity as they move towards
boarding Charon's boat. In short,
they look and act something like Adam
and Eve in Massacio's depiction of the
explusion from paradise. How
precisely the original or native
nudity of the protoplasts in the
opening episodes of the cyclic church
drama was represented on the medieval
stage or pageant cart I don't think we
know. But it's obviously alluded to,
and must constitute a sacred precedent
for subsequent profane
representations. Ditto Jesus'
stripping in the Crucifixion. -- Jim
N.
On Sat, 23 Apr 2011 08:49:28 -0400
"Thomas P Roche
([log in to unmask])"
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Dear Learned Collegial Friends, I am
>looking for dramatic scenes where
>nudity is displayed or strongly
>alluded to ans come up with only Tis
>Pity. Was there a law? I am working
>on the scene where Ophelia tells
>Polonius what Hamlet DID to her,
>where more occurs than meets the
>eye.Please help, dear folks!
> Tom Roche
[log in to unmask]
James Nohrnberg
Dept. of English, Bryan Hall 219
Univ. of Virginia
P.O Box 400121
Charlottesville, VA 22904-4121
