Homosexuality And The Signs Of Male Friendship In Elizabethan England

While on the way to venerate Saint Thomas Becket’s remains, the entertainment of Chaucer’s Canterbury pilgrims falls upon the requiting of stories between the different estates. However, this requiting quickly turns malicious, the Host’s simple proposition evolving into an aggressive show of social dominance that includes the boasting of both literal and metaphorical rape. The normalization (or, borderline reverence) of aggressive manliness contributes to the creation of both rape culture and compulsory heterosexuality. Consequently, when a man does not dominate a woman—or, does not use his masculinity to humiliate another man—he is seen as weak or effeminate, subsequently placing his sexuality under scrutiny. Such is the motive behind John and Aleyn’s rape of the miller’s wife and daughter—to make Symkin seem weak, and to gain a reputation of superior masculinity. Thus,

Centuries ago in Elizabethan England there were many traditions about marriage and the treatment of women. One strong tradition of these times was the practice of marriage between races. Interracial marriages were considered extremely taboo. (High Beam). In this era marriages were arranged by the parents with strong help from the local church. The individuals had little choice as to who they would marry. (Elizabethan England Life). Yet another example of these traditions was the respectable treatment of women. While the husband was in charge of his wife, as was the father, the husband were expected to treat the women right (Elizbethi). In spurning all of these traditions, Shakespeare demonstrates a view of marriage far different from that

Consequently, all financial and business matters were generally dealt with by men. Some documents suggest that men were usually aggressive and somewhat prone to tyranny; "An Homily on the State of Matrimony," quoted in McDonald, vehemently warns men against beating their wives, which was apparently a not-uncommon practice. In short, femininity in Shakespeare's time seems to have meant submission and gentleness, while masculinity was characterized by strength and both social and financial power.

In medieval and Elizabethan England, homosexuality was not only looked down upon, but was a crime punishable by law. Found perpetrators, including the famous King Edward II, were horribly punished. Edward was killed by “the slow and painful insertion of a red, hot poker into his anus”, along with his lover, who “had his genitals cut off and burned” (Sanders). Such is the world in which a bisexual William Shakespeare lived. Though he married Anne Hathaway at the age of 18, he was rumored to have had extramarital affairs with numerous men while in London (“Shakespeare’s Sexuality”). Gay men are present in many of Shakespeare’s plays, most prominently Twelfth Night. A sailor named Antonio falls in love with a man of noble birth named

Explore the relationships presented between males and females, by Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet, in the First Two Acts.

A true libertine of the Restoration Era, John Wilmot, Second Earl of Rochester – better known as his literary persona Rochester – is recognized for his poetry that often breaks barriers and social conventions in obscene ways. One such poem that is particularly explicit, some might even say pornographic, is entitled “A Ramble in St. James’s Park.” Including the sex, alcohol, and debauchery that is so characteristic of Rochester, this poem creates a unique balance between depravity of content and elegance of literary form. While there is much evidence that Rochester represents sex explicitly with obscene and shocking language in “A Ramble in St. James’s Park” for the purpose of satirizing both himself and contemporary love poems, I will argue that in doing so, he also makes a broader statement regarding the tension between the public and private spheres of sexuality, specifically representing female sexuality in the public sphere and erotic female bodies as communal property; finally, the lewd language hints at an anxiety about the power of the feminine over men, thus queering gender roles by becoming the abject feminine.

Literature of the English Restoration offers the example of a number of writers who wrote for a courtly audience: literary production, particularly in learned imitation of classical models, was part of the court culture of King Charles II. The fact of a shared model explains the remarkable similarities between “The Imperfect Enjoyment” by the Earl of Rochester and “The Disappointment” by Aphra Behn—remarkable only because readers are surprised to read one poem about male sexual impotence from the late seventeenth century, let alone two examples of this genre by well-known courtly writers. In fact, Richard Quaintance presents ten more examples by lesser-known poets as he defines the literary sub-genre of the neo-Classical “imperfect

Friendship is a blessing, people say, and it is. Men often express their appreciation and respect for male friends through literature. A fellowship, medieval authors call it. A deep and unbreakable connection between males, transcending romantic love. A relationship based on mutual support and admiration, thriving of intellectual stimulation. Nothing is more valuable to a man than a friendship, not even the love of a woman; it is only a man, after all, who can understand another man. To seventeenth century men, friendship (just like everything else) is a male blessing – a patriarchal gift – not for women. Female friendship was “impossible,” for an amicable and supportive relationship between women could never exist. Platonic friendships existed between men, not women. Yet, several female poets challenged this notion, emphasizing importance of female friendships as male authors and poets do. Friendship is defined through a feminist lens in Aemilia Lanyer’s “The Description of Cookham” and Katherine Philips’ poetry in which female characteristics that are often overlooked are deeming meaningful through friendship.

In the symposium, Pausanias (Greek geographer) conveys the second part which talks about a few of the societal standards representing gay (homoerotic) relationships. The way that a companion (an older man) and his lover ( a younger man) may act towards each other is largely based on society’s ethical code. It is shown that the tradition of this relationship is pursuer to the pursued; the older man takes the initiative in the relationship and is

In Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, an eclectic mix of people gathers together at Tabard Inn to begin a pilgrimage to Canterbury. In the General Prologue, the readers are introduced to each of these characters. Among the pilgrims are the provocative Wife of Bath and the meek Pardoner. These two characters both demonstrate sexuality, in very different ways. Chaucer uses the Wife and the Pardoner to examine sexuality in the medieval period.

With every great story line comes a theme. William Shakespeare created an art of intertwining often unrecognizable themes within his plays. In Shakespeare’s play, The Merchant of Venice, one hidden theme is the idea of homosexuality. This theme might not have even been noticed until modern Shakespeare fans discovered them. According to Alan Bray’s book, Homosexuality in Renaissance England, “the modern image of ‘the homosexual’ cannot be applied to the early modern period, when homosexual behavior was viewed in terms of the sexual act and not an individual's broader identity.” (Columbia University Press). This difference between homosexuality as a “sexual act” and an

Author and civil rights activist Maya Angelou once said, “How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!”. When one thinks of comic books, it is very likely that the subjects that come to mind are Marvel’s Spiderman or DC’s Batman. Although comic books are stereotypically thought to be mainly about super heroes, there are a wide variety of subject matter they could be written about, such as romance. In the 1950s – 1960s, it was common for these romance comics to exploit the social norms of that time and emphasized the subject of gender roles. While the men in comic books were usually illustrated in a brave heroic manner, the women would be portrayed to be what would now be considered a stereotypical “trophy wife”. As a young child reading these comics and taking in these images, they are slowly molding their ideals to believe that what they are reading and seeing is what is accepted and normal in their society. By coding gender norms into the texts, authors are helping mold the ideology of its readers to believe that it is acceptable for both genders to follow specific rules that accommodate to the believed social norms of the time.

In 'Twelfth Night’, gender and sexuality in many ways add to the play’s themes of madness. 'Twelfth Night ' is a reflection of renaissance thought and culture, the renaissance was a transitional period from the medieval to the radical Elizabethan era. The culture of the time was a contradictory one, as from one aspect it was influenced by the patriarchal medieval time, where women were under the rule of men and seen as needing the protection of men, however, from another perspective, the culture was a changing one as women were starting to receive education and many humanists believed that women should be given more rights. The play reflects these attitudes and often challenges the social hierarchy and establishes ideas on gender roles, sexuality and cross-dressing. These factors indeed undermine the expectations of male and female behaviour, and in turn further the play 's theme of madness which has a comedic effect on the audience due to the shock humour it provides.

     Throughout history, men and women have been assigned specific roles to which society prescribes standards and qualifications. There are certain tasks that have been traditionally completed only by men, and others that have been assigned to women; most of which are separated by the realm of the domestic sphere. During the period of the Renaissance, men and women were assigned very different roles within society. The value, social expectations, legal status, and rights of citizenship differed greatly between the sexes as well as among the classes. Many of these gender roles can be identified through careful readings of the literature produced throughout the Renaissance.

This paper critically analyses the theme of social mobility through marriage in Shakespeare’s play ‘Twelfth Night’. In addition, the paper highlights how different characters in the play got into higher social classes or desired to be in higher social classes through marriage. This paper holds that in a highly stratified society such as that presented in the Shakespeare’s play; marriage plays a significant role in in social class mobility. As opposed to some traditional society where marriage was only permitted along an individual’s class, Shakespeare presents a literally liberal society with marriage and other relationships permitted along all the classes within the society. In fact, marriage is more of a person choice, contrary to the perception in the tradition society.