The Language of Fruit

Literature and Horticulture in the Long Eighteenth Century

Nonfiction, Art & Architecture, Architecture, Landscape, Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, British
Cover of the book The Language of Fruit by Liz Bellamy, University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc.
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Liz Bellamy ISBN: 9780812295832
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc. Publication: January 25, 2019
Imprint: University of Pennsylvania Press Language: English
Author: Liz Bellamy
ISBN: 9780812295832
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc.
Publication: January 25, 2019
Imprint: University of Pennsylvania Press
Language: English

In The Language of Fruit, Liz Bellamy explores how poets, playwrights, and novelists from the Restoration to the Romantic era represented fruit and fruit trees in a period that saw significant changes in cultivation techniques, the expansion of the range of available fruit varieties, and the transformation of the mechanisms for their exchange and distribution. Although her principal concern is with the representation of fruit within literary texts and genres, she nevertheless grounds her analysis in the consideration of what actually happened in the gardens and orchards of the past.

As Bellamy progresses through sections devoted to specific literary genres, three central "characters" come to the fore: the apple, long a symbol of natural abundance, simplicity, and English integrity; the orange, associated with trade and exchange until its "naturalization" as a British resident; and the pineapple, often figured as a cossetted and exotic child of indulgence epitomizing extravagant luxury. She demonstrates how the portrayal of fruits within literary texts was complicated by symbolic associations derived from biblical and classical traditions, often identifying fruit with female temptation and sexual desire. Looking at seventeenth-century poetry, Restoration drama, eighteenth-century georgic, and the Romantic novel, as well as practical writings on fruit production and husbandry, Bellamy shows the ways in which the meanings and inflections that accumulated around different kinds of fruit related to contemporary concepts of gender, class, and race.

Examining the intersection of literary tradition and horticultural innovation, The Language of Fruit traces how writers from Andrew Marvell to Jane Austen responded to the challenges posed by the evolving social, economic, and symbolic functions of fruit over the long eighteenth century.

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

In The Language of Fruit, Liz Bellamy explores how poets, playwrights, and novelists from the Restoration to the Romantic era represented fruit and fruit trees in a period that saw significant changes in cultivation techniques, the expansion of the range of available fruit varieties, and the transformation of the mechanisms for their exchange and distribution. Although her principal concern is with the representation of fruit within literary texts and genres, she nevertheless grounds her analysis in the consideration of what actually happened in the gardens and orchards of the past.

As Bellamy progresses through sections devoted to specific literary genres, three central "characters" come to the fore: the apple, long a symbol of natural abundance, simplicity, and English integrity; the orange, associated with trade and exchange until its "naturalization" as a British resident; and the pineapple, often figured as a cossetted and exotic child of indulgence epitomizing extravagant luxury. She demonstrates how the portrayal of fruits within literary texts was complicated by symbolic associations derived from biblical and classical traditions, often identifying fruit with female temptation and sexual desire. Looking at seventeenth-century poetry, Restoration drama, eighteenth-century georgic, and the Romantic novel, as well as practical writings on fruit production and husbandry, Bellamy shows the ways in which the meanings and inflections that accumulated around different kinds of fruit related to contemporary concepts of gender, class, and race.

Examining the intersection of literary tradition and horticultural innovation, The Language of Fruit traces how writers from Andrew Marvell to Jane Austen responded to the challenges posed by the evolving social, economic, and symbolic functions of fruit over the long eighteenth century.

More books from University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc.

Cover of the book Beat Cop to Top Cop by Liz Bellamy
Cover of the book Decolonization and the Evolution of International Human Rights by Liz Bellamy
Cover of the book Looking Inward by Liz Bellamy
Cover of the book English Letters and Indian Literacies by Liz Bellamy
Cover of the book Animal Bodies, Renaissance Culture by Liz Bellamy
Cover of the book Early African American Print Culture by Liz Bellamy
Cover of the book The Good Women of the Parish by Liz Bellamy
Cover of the book Looting and Rape in Wartime by Liz Bellamy
Cover of the book Battling Miss Bolsheviki by Liz Bellamy
Cover of the book Slavery in Medieval and Early Modern Iberia by Liz Bellamy
Cover of the book Sound Business by Liz Bellamy
Cover of the book Recipes for Thought by Liz Bellamy
Cover of the book A Nation Dedicated to Religious Liberty by Liz Bellamy
Cover of the book Debt for Sale by Liz Bellamy
Cover of the book Women in Frankish Society by Liz Bellamy
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