Staging the Blazon: Poetic Dismemberment in Early Modern Theater
Editors: Deborah Uman (St. John Fisher College) and Sara Morrison (William Jewell College)
Early modern literature is crowded with images of dismembered bodies. Petrarchan conventions and myths of transformation provide platforms from which early modern writers can explore bodily fragmentation. Poetic blazons remain theoretical, since the bodies aren't "real" or visible. On stage, however, the presence of actors draws uncomfortable attention to such metaphors of dismemberment. This collection will explore the challenges of embodying the blazon, considering topics such as tropes of fragmentation, effects of genre, references to myth, and gestures toward authorial immortality.
Different thematic approaches are being solicited for this collection including (but not limited to):
• Ovidian myths of literal dismemberment depicted on stage
• Dramatization of the Petrarchan lover
• Historical and contemporary staging practices when attempting to present bodily fragmentation
Please send essays of 5000-7500 words to duman@sjfc.edu and morrisons@william.jewell.edu by August 21st, 2010.
