Images of the Female Countenance in Renaissance Literature

Abstract

In her article "The politics of gender" Elaine Hobby gives a clear image of the confusion evoked in modern mentality by the juxtaposition of Renaissance literature and history. The romantic scenes portrayed in the wonderland of Renaissance poetry seem uncompromisable with the bare facts of historical record. As we contemplate the shadows obscuring the male permeated poetic language of the age however, we do discern spots of light illuminating the overall picture. The age has its own logic and its own language and although neither may be wholly appealing to the modern palate, both are, within their own historical framework, unequivocal and self-consciously assertive.