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I agree that's an anecdote I'm not likely to forget. I wonder, though, if Cowley is thinking of eunuchs in a biblical sense? Matthew 19:12 reads For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from *their* mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive *it*, let him receive *it*. A eunuch is still a eunuch, I guess, but the biblical context seems to think of it in terms of vocation. Might that be the connection to Cowley's poetic vocation? Otherwise, it's hard to figure out how castration popped into his head! Hannibal On Fri, May 31, 2019 at 4:27 PM Jon Quitslund <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Hello Peter and all, > > I knew that kinky anecdote would get some attention. I can't take you > back to the source. I think it's in an old collection of Spenser > "allusions" from the 17th and 18th cc. I've never had the book itself but > my memory is, it's not obscure; most likely, I used it at the Folger. > > Jon Q > > On Friday, May 31, 2019, 10:47:16 AM PDT, Anderson, Judith H. < > [log in to unmask]> wrote: > > > JK, I really, really like your creative ideas Admirable! (I probably > should not, but I also want to second Peter Herman’s recommendation of the > MLA volume on Spenser in their teaching series. It still works, especially > with the new ideas proposed in this thread.) > > > > *From:* Sidney-Spenser Discussion List <[log in to unmask]> *On > Behalf Of *J.K. Barret > *Sent:* Thursday, May 30, 2019 10:33 PM > *To:* [log in to unmask] > *Subject:* Re: Teaching the FQ > > > > Dear Judith (and others!), > > > > That’s so exciting that you’ll be teaching an *FQ *course for > undergraduates. I most recently offered one this past semester (Spring > 2019) in which we read the whole poem (1-6 and CM), so I wanted to add a > quick idea to the many wonderful responses you have already received. > > > > In addition to assignments aimed at helping the students learn about the > stanza’s form (I have them write one) and critical apparatus (I have them > write a proposal for a new footnote), this time around I also assigned an > exercise early on in the semester that required them to rewrite two stanzas > (of my choosing) in prose. Their prose version needed to be comprehensive, > accounting for every word and striving to convey all the specificity and > detail of the original. They submitted their files, and I typed my comments > directly into their prose (cheering them on, correcting, or quibbling as > relevant). I described it to them as giving me a chance to read along with > them for two stanzas. > > > > Before the assignment, I handed out several samples from early cantos, and > encouraged the students to do their own prose renderings for those stanzas > and then compare their results to mine for practice. We discussed a few of > my translation decisions in class. I’m sure many people on this list assign > something similar; this was the most hands-on version of it I’ve ever > tried, and I found it really paid off in terms of comprehension. I also > found it helpful in conveying how slowly one would ideally read each stanza > (thus encouraging them to read at least *some* stanzas that slowly). It > depends on your enrollment size, of course, because grading them is > extremely labor intensive and handing them back quickly is crucial. > > > > One other thought: I generally encourage the students to read online > summaries as they go. (We sometimes talk about the many errors in them). > Since there are no online summaries available for 1596, I gave them one I > had written myself for Book IV. By Book V, I told them to write *their* > own in they wanted one... > > > > All best (and enjoy!), > > J.K. > > > > > > On May 30, 2019, at 11:33 AM, Judith Owens <[log in to unmask]> > wrote: > > > > Not for the first time, I am inspired (although not surprised) by the > scholarly generosity of Spenserians. Many thanks, all of you, for sharing > so enthusiastically your accumulated wisdom! Now—fingers crossed that my > course draws well enough to elude the Dean’s programme cuts. > > Judith > > Sent from my iPhone > > > > > > ________ > J.K. Barret > Associate Professor > Department of English > University of Texas at Austin > http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/?GCOI=80140100239330 > > > > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > To unsubscribe from the SIDNEY-SPENSER list, click the following link: > https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?SUBED1=SIDNEY-SPENSER&A=1 > > ------------------------------ > > To unsubscribe from the SIDNEY-SPENSER list, click the following link: > https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?SUBED1=SIDNEY-SPENSER&A=1 > > ------------------------------ > > To unsubscribe from the SIDNEY-SPENSER list, click the following link: > https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?SUBED1=SIDNEY-SPENSER&A=1 > -- Hannibal Hamlin Professor of English The Ohio State University Author of *The Bible in Shakespeare*, now available through all good bookshops, or direct from Oxford University Press at http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780199677610.do 164 Annie & John Glenn Ave., 421 Denney Hall Columbus, OH 43210-1340 [log in to unmask] [log in to unmask] ######################################################################## To unsubscribe from the SIDNEY-SPENSER list, click the following link: https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?SUBED1=SIDNEY-SPENSER&A=1