Reading Sensations in Early Modern England

How did Renaissance literature affect readers' minds, bodies and souls? In what ways did the history of literary experience overlap with the history of humours and emotions? This book argues that a new aesthetic vocabulary based on the theory of the passions was formulated in the Renaissance to describe the affective power of literature.

'Reading Sensations in Early Modern England is a slim volume, but a valuable one...its clear argument and elegant execution make it a rewarding read.' - Erin Sullivan, Medical History

Autorentext
KATHARINE A. CRAIK completed her doctoral research at Kings College, University of Cambridge, UK. She is Senior Lecturer in Early Modern Literature at Oxford Brookes University, UK.

Klappentext

How did Renaissance literature affect readers' minds, bodies and souls? In what ways did the history of literary experience overlap with the history of humours and emotions? This book argues that a new aesthetic vocabulary based on the theory of the passions was formulated in the Renaissance to describe the affective power of literature.

Inhalt
Acknowledgements Introduction The Word and the Flesh in Early Modern England Beneath the Skin: George Puttenham, Sir Philip Sidney and the Experience of English Poetry Arming the Reader: Sir Philip Sidney and the Literature of Choler 'These Spots are but the Letters': John Donne and the Medicaments of Elegy Eating his Words: Thomas Coryat and the Art of Indigestion Touching Stories: Richard Braithwait, Thomas Cranley and the Origins of English Pornography Afterword Bibliography Index