The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 10.0303  Monday, 22 February 1999.

From:           Jack Heller <
 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 >
Date:           Sunday, 21 Feb 1999 14:26:44 -0500 (EST)
Subject:        Early Reception of Venus and Adonis

I am new to this list, so if this repeats any previous inquiry, please
excuse me. In Thomas Middleton's play A Mad World, My Masters, a
husband, Harebrain, forbids his wife to have a copy of Venus and Adonis
and Hero and Leander because, he thinks, those poems will incite her
lust. So, Mistress Harebrain hides copies of these poems in her skirt
(with all puns and bawdy implications intended). I am curious about
other references which suggest that these poems had a particular erotic
appeal to women readers, especially if such references come from early
modern women writers themselves. Any suggestions?

Jack Heller

 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it