- 297 pages
- English
- PDF
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF
About this book
How might we understand early modern sexuality prior to contemporary interpretations of sexuality? What does the sex life of James VI and I tell us about the history of sexuality?
Jason O'Toole explores the network of intimacy which structured itself around King James VI and I, his wife Anna of Denmark and James' prominent as well as ancillary favourites to provide answers to these questions. O'Toole presents a cultural and literary history of homoerotic desire by analysing the politics and texture of queer culture at the Jacobean court.
To uncover this history, he investigates how physical manifestations of desire reveal themselves through intimacy between physical bodies and through the handling, employment and exchange of material bodies and objects. Objects which simultaneously represent accepted and forbidden desire. Highlighting how same-sex desire was often concealed, O'Toole evaluates how literary works from the period communicate an unnamed desire between men through metaphor, allegories and Classical allusions. Primary texts including poems, masques, and unpublished manuscripts, recurrent tropes, material culture such as artistic artefacts and architectural design are analysed to unpack sexual double meanings and demonstrate how homoeroticism acts as a regular and accessible subtext. This focus illustrates how homoerotic and homosocial desire were both interwoven and normative in the courts of King James VI & I, foregrounding the social, cultural and political importance of same-sex desire in the early modern period.
Jason O'Toole explores the network of intimacy which structured itself around King James VI and I, his wife Anna of Denmark and James' prominent as well as ancillary favourites to provide answers to these questions. O'Toole presents a cultural and literary history of homoerotic desire by analysing the politics and texture of queer culture at the Jacobean court.
To uncover this history, he investigates how physical manifestations of desire reveal themselves through intimacy between physical bodies and through the handling, employment and exchange of material bodies and objects. Objects which simultaneously represent accepted and forbidden desire. Highlighting how same-sex desire was often concealed, O'Toole evaluates how literary works from the period communicate an unnamed desire between men through metaphor, allegories and Classical allusions. Primary texts including poems, masques, and unpublished manuscripts, recurrent tropes, material culture such as artistic artefacts and architectural design are analysed to unpack sexual double meanings and demonstrate how homoeroticism acts as a regular and accessible subtext. This focus illustrates how homoerotic and homosocial desire were both interwoven and normative in the courts of King James VI & I, foregrounding the social, cultural and political importance of same-sex desire in the early modern period.
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Yes, you can access Exploring Early Modern Sexualities by Jason O'Toole in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Literature & History of Architecture. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Half Title
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Note on the text
- Introduction
- Chapter 1: James and his Phoenix: Esmé Stuart, 6th Sieur d’Aubigny, later the Earl and Duke of Lennox
- Chapter 2: James and his queen: Anna of Denmark
- Chapter 3: James and his ancillary favourites: Philip Herbert, 1st Earl of Montgomery and 4th Earl of Pembroke; and James Hay, Viscount Doncaster and 1st Earl of Carlisle
- Chapter 4: James and his volatile favourite: Robert Carr, Viscount Rochester and later Earl of Somerset
- Chapter 5: James and his most powerful favourite: George Villiers, the Earl, later Marquis and subsequent Duke of Buckingham
- Epilogue
- Appendix
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index