Virginity in Early Modern Drama

Descriptif

In the early modern period virginity was highly valued and commodified, yet it was also a transgressive and potentially disruptive idea. Playwrights were aware of the tension inherent in virginity, as well as its performative and metaphorical nature, and exploited this for dramatic effect. The aim of this seminar is to study how virginity was understood by playwrights, how they represented virginity on stage, and why this matters for thinking about early modern drama more broadly. We will read a range of plays across different genres to explore the significance of virginity on the stage and beyond. The key texts for this seminar are: Middleton and Rowley's `The Changeling', Dekker and Massinger's `The Virgin Martyr', Middleton's `A Chaste Maid in Cheapside', and Shakespeare and Fletcher's `The Two Noble Kinsmen'.