Queer virgins and virgin queans on the early modern stage
By: Mary Bly.
Publisher: Oxford University Press; Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 2000
Place of publication: Oxford [U.K.]; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 213
Subjects: Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 -- Contemporaries; English drama -- 17th century -- History and criticism; Homosexuality and literature -- England -- History -- 17th century; Child actors -- England -- London -- History -- 17th century; Theater -- England -- London -- History -- 17th century; Homosexuality, Male, in literature; Sexual orientation in literature; Puns and punning in literature; Gay men in literature; Sex in literature
Description: "Queer Virgins and Virgin Queans looks at the early modern theatre through the lens of obscure and obscene puns - especially 'queer' puns, those that carry homoerotic resonances and speak to homoerotic desires. In particular, it resurrects the operations of a small boys' company known as the first Whitefriars, which performed for about nine months in 1607-8." "Queer Virgins and Virgin Queens engages with linguistic theory by arguing that puns create communities, if only for a few hours; with theatrical scholarship by arguing for a much stronger emphasis on the importance of the writing communities attached to theatres; and with queer theory by positing a self-aware homoerotic community in early modern London."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [146]-205) and index.