Approximate Bodies

Gender and Power in Early Modern Drama and Anatomy

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Performing Arts, Theatre, History & Criticism, Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, Drama History & Criticism
Cover of the book Approximate Bodies by Maurizio Calbi, Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Maurizio Calbi ISBN: 9781134282340
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: May 2, 2006
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author: Maurizio Calbi
ISBN: 9781134282340
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: May 2, 2006
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

The early modern period was an age of anatomical exploration and revelation, with new discoveries capturing the imagination not only of scientists but also of playwrights and poets. Approximate Bodies examines, in fascinating detail, the changing representation of the body in early modern drama and in the period's anatomical and gynaecological treatises.

Maurizio Calbi focuses on the unstable representation of both masculinity and femininity in Renaissance texts such as The Duchess of Malfi, The Changeling and a variety of Shakespeare plays. Drawing on theorists including Foucault, Derrida and Lacan, these close textual readings examine the effects of social, psychic and cultural influences on early modern images of the body. Calbi identifies the ways in which political, social, racial and sexual power structures effect the construction of the body in dramatic and anatomical texts. Calbi's analysis displays how images such as the deformed body of the outsider, the effeminate body of the desiring male and the disfigured body parts of the desiring female indicate an unstable, incomplete conception of the body in the Renaissance.

Compelling and impeccably researched, this is a sophisticated account of the fantasies and anxieties that play a role in constructing the early modern body. Approximate Bodies makes a major contribution to the field of early modern studies and to debates around the body.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The early modern period was an age of anatomical exploration and revelation, with new discoveries capturing the imagination not only of scientists but also of playwrights and poets. Approximate Bodies examines, in fascinating detail, the changing representation of the body in early modern drama and in the period's anatomical and gynaecological treatises.

Maurizio Calbi focuses on the unstable representation of both masculinity and femininity in Renaissance texts such as The Duchess of Malfi, The Changeling and a variety of Shakespeare plays. Drawing on theorists including Foucault, Derrida and Lacan, these close textual readings examine the effects of social, psychic and cultural influences on early modern images of the body. Calbi identifies the ways in which political, social, racial and sexual power structures effect the construction of the body in dramatic and anatomical texts. Calbi's analysis displays how images such as the deformed body of the outsider, the effeminate body of the desiring male and the disfigured body parts of the desiring female indicate an unstable, incomplete conception of the body in the Renaissance.

Compelling and impeccably researched, this is a sophisticated account of the fantasies and anxieties that play a role in constructing the early modern body. Approximate Bodies makes a major contribution to the field of early modern studies and to debates around the body.

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book The Pension Fund Revolution by Maurizio Calbi
Cover of the book Technology and the Culture of Progress in Meiji Japan by Maurizio Calbi
Cover of the book Creating Nationality in Central Europe, 1880-1950 by Maurizio Calbi
Cover of the book Writing Fiction by Maurizio Calbi
Cover of the book Global Modernity, Development, and Contemporary Civilization by Maurizio Calbi
Cover of the book Islam, Law and Identity by Maurizio Calbi
Cover of the book Learning ICT with Maths by Maurizio Calbi
Cover of the book Adam Smith's Sociological Economics by Maurizio Calbi
Cover of the book Beyond the Masks by Maurizio Calbi
Cover of the book The Integrated Approach to Arabic Instruction by Maurizio Calbi
Cover of the book Video Game Worlds by Maurizio Calbi
Cover of the book The Routledge Companion to Qualitative Research in Organization Studies by Maurizio Calbi
Cover of the book Future Directions of Educational Change by Maurizio Calbi
Cover of the book Henry Ossawa Tanner by Maurizio Calbi
Cover of the book International Environmental Justice by Maurizio Calbi
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy