Submission Type
Event
Expected Graduation Date
2014
Location
Room E101, Center for Natural Sciences, Illinois Wesleyan University
Start Date
4-12-2014 10:00 AM
End Date
4-12-2014 11:00 AM
Disciplines
English Language and Literature
Abstract
Renaissance England was marked by change. From the late 15th century through the early 17th century, the social atmosphere in England was thrown out of order. The rise of the middle class gave people money who weren’t supposed to have money. This deteriorated the established hierarchies of the time, blurring the lines between classes. Critics of John Webster’s The White Devil (1612) have yet to address these issues in conjunction with the homoerotic tones throughout the play. Webster is using sodomy as a trope to illuminate how mobility in service is a destructive, chaotic force. By exploring these concepts together, readers can gain a better understanding of the play’s portrayal of these social anxieties and their meanings.
Included in
Movin' on up: Sodomy in Service in The White Devil
Room E101, Center for Natural Sciences, Illinois Wesleyan University
Renaissance England was marked by change. From the late 15th century through the early 17th century, the social atmosphere in England was thrown out of order. The rise of the middle class gave people money who weren’t supposed to have money. This deteriorated the established hierarchies of the time, blurring the lines between classes. Critics of John Webster’s The White Devil (1612) have yet to address these issues in conjunction with the homoerotic tones throughout the play. Webster is using sodomy as a trope to illuminate how mobility in service is a destructive, chaotic force. By exploring these concepts together, readers can gain a better understanding of the play’s portrayal of these social anxieties and their meanings.