Research Catalog

Magical imaginations : instrumental aesthetics in the English Renaissance

Title
Magical imaginations : instrumental aesthetics in the English Renaissance / Genevieve Juliette Guenther.
Author
Guenther, Genevieve Juliette.
Publication
Toronto : University of Toronto Press, c2012.

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StatusFormatAccessCall NumberItem Location
TextUse in library PR525.M24 G83 2012Off-site

Details

Description
x, 169 p.; 24 cm.
Summary
"In the English Renaissance, poetry was imagined to inspire moral behaviour in its readers, but the efficacy of poetry was also linked to 'conjuration, ' the theologically dangerous practice of invoking spirits with words. Magical Imaginations explores how major writers of the period--including Spenser, Marlowe, and Shakespeare--negotiated this troubling link between poetry and magic in their attempts to transform readers and audiences with the power of art. Through analyses of texts ranging from sermons and theological treatises to medical tracts and legal documents, Genevieve Guenther sheds new light on magic as a cultural practice in early modern England. She demonstrates that magic was a highly pragmatic--even cynical--endeavor infiltrating unexpected spheres, including Elizabethan taxation policy and Jacobean political philosophy. With this new understanding of early modern magic--a fresh context for compelling readings of classic literary works--Magical Imaginations reveals the central importance of magic to English literary history."--Jacket.
Subject
  • 1500-1700
  • 1500-talet
  • English poetry > Early modern, 1500-1700 > History and criticism
  • English drama > Early modern and Elizabethan, 1500-1600 > History and criticism
  • Magic in literature
  • Aesthetics in literature
  • English drama > Early modern and Elizabethan
  • English poetry > Early modern
  • Englisch
  • Lyrik
  • Magie
  • Drama
  • Engelsk poesi
  • Engelsk dramatik
  • Magi i litteraturen
  • Litteraturestetik > historia
Genre/Form
Criticism, interpretation, etc.
Bibliography (note)
  • Includes bibliographical references (p. [147]-162) and index.
Contents
Conjuration and The defense of poesy -- The demonology of Spenserian discipline -- Why devils came when Faustus called them -- The end of magic : instrumental aesthetics in The tempest -- Epilogue : Kant's charm.
ISBN
  • 9781442642416
  • 1442642416
LCCN
2012372628
OCLC
  • ocn755210893
  • 755210893
  • SCSB-14503742
Owning Institutions
Princeton University Library