Shakespeare's Ovid and the Spectre of the Medieval

284 Pages·2018·14.419 MB·English

by  Lindsay Ann Reid

Studies in Renaissance Literature
Volume 36
SHAKESPEARE’S OVID AND THE SPECTRE
OF THE MEDIEVAL
Shakespeare's_Ovid.indb 1 01/10/2018 12:25
Studies in Renaissance Literature
ISSN 1465-6310
General Editors
Raphael Lyne
Sean Keilen
Matthew Woodcock
Jane Grogan
Studies in Renaissance Literature offers investigations of topics in English liter-
ature focussed in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; its scope extends
from early Tudor writing, including works reflecting medieval concerns, to
the Restoration period. Studies exploring the interplay between the literature
of the English Renaissance and its cultural history are particularly welcomed.
Proposals or queries should be sent in the first instance to the editors, or to the
publisher, at the addresses given below; all submissions receive prompt and
informed consideration.
Dr Raphael Lyne, Murray Edwards College, Cambridge, CB3 0DF
Professor Sean Keilen, Literature Department, UC Santa Cruz, 1156 High St,
Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
Dr Matthew Woodcock, School of Literature and Creative Writing, University
of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ
Dr Jane Grogan, University College Dublin, School of English, Drama and
Film, Newman Building, Belfield, Dublin 4
Boydell & Brewer Limited, PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 3DF
Previously published volumes in this series are listed at the back of this volume
Shakespeare's_Ovid.indb 2 01/10/2018 12:25
SHAKESPEARE’S OVID
AND THE SPECTRE OF THE MEDIEVAL

Lindsay Ann Reid
D. S. BREWER
Shakespeare's_Ovid.indb 3 01/10/2018 12:25
© Lindsay Ann Reid 2018
All Rights Reserved. Except as permitted under current legislation
no part of this work may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval system,
published, performed in public, adapted, broadcast,
transmitted, recorded or reproduced in any form or by any means,
without the prior permission of the copyright owner
The right of Lindsay Ann Reid to be identified as
the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with
sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
First published 2018
D. S. Brewer, Cambridge
ISBN 978-1-84384-518-8
D. S. Brewer is an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd
PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF, UK
and of Boydell & Brewer Inc.
668 Mt Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620–2731, USA
website: www.boydellandbrewer.com
A catalogue record for this title is available
from the British Library
The publisher has no responsibility for the continued existence or accuracy
of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book,
and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain,
accurate or appropriate
This publication is printed on acid-free paper
Typeset by 4word Ltd, Unit 15, Baker’s Park, Cater Road, Bristol BS13 7TT
Shakespeare's_Ovid.indb 4 01/10/2018 12:25
For Charlie, Sam, and Kris
Shakespeare's_Ovid.indb 5 01/10/2018 12:25
Shakespeare's_Ovid.indb 6 01/10/2018 12:25
CONTENTS
List of Figures ix
Acknowledgements xi
Note on References and Transcriptions xiii
Introduction 1
1 Chaucer’s Ghoast, Ovid’s ‘Pleasant Fables’, and the Spectre of Gower 9
2 Shakespeare’s Ovid and Sly’s Chaucer 39
3 Theseus and Ariadne (and her Sister) 75
4 Philomela and the Dread of Dawn 119
5 The Cross-Dressed Narcissus 163
Afterword 199
Appendix 1: The Gowerian Riddles of Chaucer’s Ghoast 211
Appendix 2: Ariadne’s Desertion in Bulleins Bulwarke of Defence 217
Bibliography 225
Index 259
vii
Shakespeare's_Ovid.indb 7 01/10/2018 12:25
Shakespeare's_Ovid.indb 8 01/10/2018 12:25
LIST OF FIGURES
1 Title page from Chaucer’s Ghoast (London, 1672). Lo 10.383*. 11
Houghton Library, Harvard University.
2 Title page from Thomas Speght’s Workes of Our Antient and 16
Lerned English Poet, Geffrey Chaucer (London, 1598).
Huntington RB 99592. The Huntington Library, San Marino,
California.
3 John Speed’s frontispiece portrait of the author from Thomas 33
Speght’s Workes of Our Antient and Lerned English Poet, Geffrey
Chaucer (London, 1598). Huntington RB 99592. The Huntington
Library, San Marino, California.
4 Ben Jonson’s prefatory poem ‘To the Memory of My Beloved, 42
the Author Mr. William Shakespeare, and What He Hath Left Us’
from the First Folio (London, 1623). Public domain via Miami
University Libraries Digital Collections.
5 Title page from The Excellent Historye of Theseus and Ariadne 98
(London, 1566). Special Collections 19710. The John Rylands
Library, University of Manchester. Copyright of The University
of Manchester.
6 Narrative cassone painting by the Master of the Campana 105
Cassoni depicting Theseus’ Cretan exploits with Ariadne and
Phaedra (c. 1510). Oil on poplar panel. Musée du Petit Palais,
Avignon. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
ix
Shakespeare's_Ovid.indb 9 01/10/2018 12:25
7 Emblem depicting Narcissus from Andrea Alciato’s 179
Emblematum Libellus (Venice, 1546). Typ 525 46.132.
Houghton Library, Harvard University.
8 Title page (with contested Shakespeare autograph) from 200
an Aldine edition of Ovid’s Metamorphoses (Venice, 1502).
MS. Autogr. F.1. The Bodleian Library, University of Oxford.
9 Internal page from Chaucer’s Ghoast (London, 1672). 212
Lo 10.383*. Houghton Library, Harvard University.
10 Internal page from Chaucer’s Ghoast (London, 1672). 213
Lo 10.383*. Houghton Library, Harvard University.
11 Title page from Bulleins Bulwarke of Defence (London, 218
1562). Huntington RB 59545. The Huntington Library, San
Marino, California.
12 Title page from Bulleins Bulwarke of Defence (London,
1579). Huntington RB 95580. The Huntington Library, San 219
Marino, California.
The author and publisher are grateful to all the institutions and individuals
listed for permission to reproduce the materials in which they hold
copyright. Every effort has been made to trace the copyright holders;
apologies are offered for any omission, and the publisher will be pleased to
add any necessary acknowledgement in subsequent editions.
Shakespeare's_Ovid.indb 10 01/10/2018 12:25