The Women of Ben Jonson's Poetry: Female Representations in the Non-Dramatic Verse / Edition 1

by Barbara Smith

Overview

Ben Jonson (1572-1637) is recognised as one of the major poets and dramatists of his time. It is surprising, therefore, that this should be the first study to look specifically at the role of women in his poetry. Barbara Smith challenges previously held conceptions of Jonson as a misogynist, upholding the patronage system that allowed him to work. Through detailed examination of his poetic structures, the influence of Juvenal, Martial and Horace, and Jonson's attitudes to his own female patrons, the Countess of Bedford and Lady Mary Wroth, The Women of Ben Jonson's Poetry demonstrates how seventeenth century cultural values and ideas of gender are both supported and subverted in the poems. ’If we "survey Jonson in his works and know him there", we will find the independence of spirit and originality that made him a rarity in his time and ours.'

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781859282281
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	10/26/1995
Edition description:	1
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

Contents: Acknowledgements; Introduction; The Praiser: Subject/Object identification; Author/Persona relationship; Motivation: Patrons' Lives: Lucy, Countess of Bedford; Lady Mary Wroth; Blame: Jonson and Juvenal; Jonson and Martial; Jonson and Horace; Satire and Women; Conclusion; Bibliography.

Editorial Reviews

’This book is a welcome contribution to gender studies.’ Parergon ’Smith's book is clear, concise, and well structured...a whole new perspective on his strategy for satisfying his patrons without compromising his integrity.’ Janine Gerzanics, The Sixteenth Century Journal ’Smith’s study is extremely timely and will serve a variety of purposes. In addition to broadening the scope of current scholarship devoted to Jonson and the women he memorialized, it will also provide those undergraduates quick to condemn Jonson as thoroughly sycophantic with an accessible introduction to the epideictic mode.’ Ben Jonson Journal ’... well worth reading. It offers careful readings of many of Jonson's poems to women patrons and a well-supported argument that Jonson's treatment of women in his poetry is different in interesting ways from his treatment of men.’ The Shakespeare Newsletter

From the Publisher

A study that looks specifically at the role of women in the poetry of Jonson (1572-1637). Through an examination of Jonson's poetic structures, his literary influences, and his attitudes toward his own female patrons, Smith challenges previous conceptions of Jonson as a misogynist, demonstrating how 17th-century cultural values and ideas of gender are both supported and subverted in the poems. Distributed by Ashgate. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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