Before Pornography: Erotic Writing in Early Modern England (Studies in the History of Sexuality)

Brand: Oxford University Press, USA

Author: Moulton, Ian Frederick

Edition: 1

Number Of Pages: 288

EAN: 9780195179828

Release Date: 24-03-2005

Languages: English

Binding: paperback

Package Dimensions: 9.0 x 6.0 x 0.6 inches

Details: Before Pornography explores the relationship between erotic writing, masculinity, and national identity in Renaissance England. Drawing on both manuscripts and printed texts, and incorporating insights from modern feminist theory and queer studies, the book argues that pornography is a historical phenomenon: while the representation of sexual activity exists in nearly all cultures, pornography does not. The book includes analyses of the social significance of eroticism in such canonical texts as Sidney's Defense of Poesy and Spenser's Faerie Queene.