There is a great deal of kissing in Renaissance poetry, but modern critics do not generally recognise (as early readers did) that the literary conventions of the kiss were closely related to a fully-formed, lively and popular genre of Neo-Latin "kissing-poems". Beginning with the imitation of Catullus in fifteenth-century Italy, this specialised form was securely established in the next century by the Dutch poet Janus Secundus, whose elegant Basia ("Kisses") were an extraordinary international success. Secundus stimulated a long-lived tradition of Latin and vernacular "kisses", willfully repetitious and yet meticulously varied, which can tell us much about humanist poetics.
This book offers a critical account of the Renaissance kiss-poem, using an abundance of vivid and often racy examples, many of them drawn from authors who are all but forgotten today. It shows that the genre had a sophisticated rationale and clear but flexible conventions. These include habits of irony, mood and structure that proved widely influential, and some slippery, self-conscious ways of dealing with masculine sexuality. Presenting new readings of English writers including Sidney, Shakespeare and Donne, the study also reminds us how important Neo-Latin writing was to the literary culture of early modern Britain. A number of well known texts are thus placed in a context unfamiliar to most modern scholars, in order to show how deftly their kisses engage with an international tradition of humanist poetry.

About the Author:

Alex Wong is currently a Research Fellow in English literature at St John's College, University of Cambridge.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Store Description

An on-line bookstore specializing in academic and scholarly books. Our primary focus is in the humanities, though our inventory does include some titles in the sciences and the social sciences. We have a large selection of titles about ancient, medieval, and early modern Europe.

Visit Seller's Storefront

Seller's business information

The Compleat Scholar
NY, U.S.A.

Terms of Sale:

All books are clean copies with no underlining, marks or highlighting, unless otherwise described.

Prepayment preferred, will bill some institutions.

Checks or money orders drawn on USA banks. American Express, MasterCard, Visa, Discover, accepted.

Shipping. USA: $4.00 for first book, $1.50 each additional. Canada: $10.00, $3.00 additional. All other countries: $25.00, $8.00. Price quotes are for surface shipping. Ovesized books may cost more. Multivolume sets are charged postage on a per/book b...

More Information

Shipping Terms:

Shipping costs are based on books weighing 2.2 LB, or 1 KG. If your book order is heavy or oversized, we may contact you to let you know extra shipping is required.

Payment Methods
accepted by seller

Add to Wants

Items related to The Poetry of Kissing in Early Modern Europe: From...

The Poetry of Kissing in Early Modern Europe: From the Catullan Revival to Secundus, Shakespeare and the English Cavaliers (Studies in Renaissance Literature) (Volume 34)

Wong, Alex

Used - Hardcover

Seller's business information