Description
Book SynopsisHow did Renaissance literature affect readers' minds, bodies and souls? In what ways did the history of literary experience overlap with the history of humours and emotions? This book argues that a new aesthetic vocabulary based on the theory of the passions was formulated in the Renaissance to describe the affective power of literature.
Trade Review'Reading Sensations in Early Modern England is a slim volume, but a valuable one...its clear argument and elegant execution make it a rewarding read.' - Erin Sullivan, Medical History
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction The Word and the Flesh in Early Modern England Beneath the Skin: George Puttenham, Sir Philip Sidney and the Experience of English Poetry Arming the Reader: Sir Philip Sidney and the Literature of Choler 'These Spots are but the Letters': John Donne and the Medicaments of Elegy Eating his Words: Thomas Coryat and the Art of Indigestion Touching Stories: Richard Braithwait, Thomas Cranley and the Origins of English Pornography Afterword Bibliography Index
