Additional Information Regarding Historical and Analytical Context
Bacon, Francis. “Essays or Counsels Civil and Moral.” The Harvard Classics. Ed. Charles W. Eliot. Danbury: Grolier Enterprises Corp, 1980. 7-140. Print.
Sir Francis Bacon was a prolific writer for his time. Attending college at a very young age, Bacon was interested in the sciences but he also rose, not very highly, in politics during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. He wrote many important works that are still studied and analyzed today but his most popular and famous work would be his “Essays”. Essays or Counsels Civil and Moral contain fifty-nine essays on the ideals and emotions of humankind. In these essays, Bacon comments on human observation and in what ways men conduct themselves. Not to be confused with “conduct books”, Bacons essays simply reflect general understandings of human nature and the inner workings and networks of said nature. Out of the fifty-nine essays that Bacon wrote, I will be analyzing only two, “Of Love”, “Of Friendship”. “Of Love” describes how love influences people and the power that it holds over people. Even though love in Illyria, in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, seems to switch around frequently and dramatically, love is still an important concept and theme in the play. Friendship, which is described as a type of love or very strong bond can also fit very well into the concepts of Twelfth Night. There are many instances of friendship in Shakespeare’s comedy that could be analyzed; for example, the relationship between Sir Toby and Sir Andrew, the relationship between Antonio and Sebastian, and even the relationship between Orsino and Cesario. These male friendships, during the Elizabethan era were not seen as modern homosexual relationships. “Of Love” and “Of Friendship”, essays written during Shakespearean years, clarify aspects of these seemingly homoerotic relations.
Castlehaven Scandal, 1630-31, “The Trial of Mervin, Lord Audley, Earl of Castlehaven, for Rape and Sodomy (1719), The Execution of Fitzpatrick and Broadway (1719), both derived from ms. accounts c. 1631: Trials and Executions of the Earl of Castlehaven and Two Male Servants. Same Sex Desire in the English Renaissance: A Sourcebook of Texts, 1470-1650. Ed. Kenneth Borris. New York: Routledge, 2004. 101-113. Print.
In 1631, Mervin Touchet, Lord Audley and Earl of Castlehaven, was sentenced to death for the most infamous and sensational sex scandal during the seventeenth-century in England. In the introduction of the scandal in Same Sex Desire in the English Renaissance, before the first hand trial account by Edward Coke, Borris gives the audience a background summary about the incident. The Earl of Castlehaven was condemned to die for two counts of sodomy and the alleged rape of his own wife, Anne, the countess of Castlehaven. He allegedly gave permission and encouraged for one of his servants, Giles Broadway, to rape his wife. He, the Earl, was then accused of two acts of sodomy between himself and his master servant, Lawrence Fitzpatrick. The Earl was also accused of running several different sexually deviant practices in his home aside from the sex between males and the rape of his wife. After Touchet was tried and convicted, the trials for Broadway and Fitzpatrick commenced. Broadway was sentenced to death for the crime of rape and Fitzpatrick was sentenced to death for the crime of sodomy. What I am most interested about concerning Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night are the relationships between the male, and seemingly male, characters throughout the play. The relationship between Sir Toby and Sir Andrew is an interesting relationship in correspondence of friendship. The relationship between Orsino and Cesario, though he is really Viola, has strange notions of eroticism and the concept of love. However, the most interesting relationship would be between Sebastian and Antonio. I believe that I can use the Castlehaven piece well with my theme for the upcoming analysis paper because it includes what could have been the outcome if the relationship between Antonio and Sebastian were allowed to play out without the interruption of Olivia.
Coke, Sir Edward. “A Book of Entries (1614)” and “Third Part of the Institutes of the Laws of England (1644) and “Twelfth Part of the Reports (1656): Sodomy Laws and Prosecutions.” Same Sex Desire in the English Renaissance: A Sourcebook of Texts, 1470-1650. Ed. Kenneth Borris. New York: Routledge, 2004. 94-113. Print.
Sir Edward Coke (1552-1634) was a well-known government official who climbed his way up and down the ladder of politics in Early Modern England. There were accounts of sodomy and other sexually deviant practices that made their way to publication; however, Coke’s accounts of these sodomites have been found to be the most extensive. Kenneth Borris, the editor of Same Sex Desire in the English Renaissance: A Sourcebook of Texts, 1470-1650, includes some laws and punishments that Coke had written during his time concerning the acts of sodomy and the sodomite in general. Borris also chooses to include three scandals in which Coke refers to in the contexts of the laws and punishments. One of these scandals was the Stafford Scandal in 1607. The second, which was the only recorded documentation of same sex relations between women in the seventeenth century, was the sexual crimes committed between Sarah White Norman and Mary Vincent Hammon. The third scandal that Borris chooses to include in the Coke segments was the infamous Castlehaven Scandal, which I have previously documented. I believe that these laws, though they may not be directly related to or referred to within Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, give a lot of historical background pertaining to the treatment and conduct between the relations of males. I believe that I can use this information in discussing the relationships between Orsino and Cesario and even more fully in depth, I can discuss the relationship between Antonio and Sebastian.
Shakespeare, William, and Bruce R. Smith. Twelfth Night, Or, What You Will: Text and Context. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2001. 183-236. Print.
Twelfth Night, Or, What You Will: Text and Context was edited by Bruce R. Smith. This book contains Twelfth Night in its entirety as well as very useful footnotes and references provided by the editor. The first part of the book introduces and summarizes what the audience will find throughout the work. Part One is the play itself, but Part Two is where Smith introduces, educates, and analyzes the cultural contexts that surround the play history. In the cultural context, Smith covers Romance, Music, Sexuality, Clothing and Disguise, Household Economies, Puritan Probity, and Clowning and Laughter. I will be using concepts and historical themes from the Romance, Music, and Sexuality sections that Smith provides for his readers. I will focus very heavily on the third chapter, Sexuality. In this chapter, Smith relays the seventeenth-century idea about passions and love. I believe that I will be able to use a lot of this information from these pieces because they incorporate so many of the major themes, and understandings of those themes within the play. Love is an especially strong theme, though it is complicated and seemingly farce through much of Twelfth Night. In this edition of the play, Smith introduces the historical concepts of love and bonds between humans, in which the male friendship or bonds between men were considered the strongest physical human bonds. The countless relationships among the characters in Twelfth Night are extremely confusing and complicated but can be broken down and analyzed, bond-by-bond.
Similar Project from Previous Course Work (Previous Student of Dr. Susan Staub at Applachian State University: Amy Burnette)
https://sites.google.com/site/amykburnette/home
Sir Francis Bacon was a prolific writer for his time. Attending college at a very young age, Bacon was interested in the sciences but he also rose, not very highly, in politics during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. He wrote many important works that are still studied and analyzed today but his most popular and famous work would be his “Essays”. Essays or Counsels Civil and Moral contain fifty-nine essays on the ideals and emotions of humankind. In these essays, Bacon comments on human observation and in what ways men conduct themselves. Not to be confused with “conduct books”, Bacons essays simply reflect general understandings of human nature and the inner workings and networks of said nature. Out of the fifty-nine essays that Bacon wrote, I will be analyzing only two, “Of Love”, “Of Friendship”. “Of Love” describes how love influences people and the power that it holds over people. Even though love in Illyria, in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, seems to switch around frequently and dramatically, love is still an important concept and theme in the play. Friendship, which is described as a type of love or very strong bond can also fit very well into the concepts of Twelfth Night. There are many instances of friendship in Shakespeare’s comedy that could be analyzed; for example, the relationship between Sir Toby and Sir Andrew, the relationship between Antonio and Sebastian, and even the relationship between Orsino and Cesario. These male friendships, during the Elizabethan era were not seen as modern homosexual relationships. “Of Love” and “Of Friendship”, essays written during Shakespearean years, clarify aspects of these seemingly homoerotic relations.
Castlehaven Scandal, 1630-31, “The Trial of Mervin, Lord Audley, Earl of Castlehaven, for Rape and Sodomy (1719), The Execution of Fitzpatrick and Broadway (1719), both derived from ms. accounts c. 1631: Trials and Executions of the Earl of Castlehaven and Two Male Servants. Same Sex Desire in the English Renaissance: A Sourcebook of Texts, 1470-1650. Ed. Kenneth Borris. New York: Routledge, 2004. 101-113. Print.
In 1631, Mervin Touchet, Lord Audley and Earl of Castlehaven, was sentenced to death for the most infamous and sensational sex scandal during the seventeenth-century in England. In the introduction of the scandal in Same Sex Desire in the English Renaissance, before the first hand trial account by Edward Coke, Borris gives the audience a background summary about the incident. The Earl of Castlehaven was condemned to die for two counts of sodomy and the alleged rape of his own wife, Anne, the countess of Castlehaven. He allegedly gave permission and encouraged for one of his servants, Giles Broadway, to rape his wife. He, the Earl, was then accused of two acts of sodomy between himself and his master servant, Lawrence Fitzpatrick. The Earl was also accused of running several different sexually deviant practices in his home aside from the sex between males and the rape of his wife. After Touchet was tried and convicted, the trials for Broadway and Fitzpatrick commenced. Broadway was sentenced to death for the crime of rape and Fitzpatrick was sentenced to death for the crime of sodomy. What I am most interested about concerning Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night are the relationships between the male, and seemingly male, characters throughout the play. The relationship between Sir Toby and Sir Andrew is an interesting relationship in correspondence of friendship. The relationship between Orsino and Cesario, though he is really Viola, has strange notions of eroticism and the concept of love. However, the most interesting relationship would be between Sebastian and Antonio. I believe that I can use the Castlehaven piece well with my theme for the upcoming analysis paper because it includes what could have been the outcome if the relationship between Antonio and Sebastian were allowed to play out without the interruption of Olivia.
Coke, Sir Edward. “A Book of Entries (1614)” and “Third Part of the Institutes of the Laws of England (1644) and “Twelfth Part of the Reports (1656): Sodomy Laws and Prosecutions.” Same Sex Desire in the English Renaissance: A Sourcebook of Texts, 1470-1650. Ed. Kenneth Borris. New York: Routledge, 2004. 94-113. Print.
Sir Edward Coke (1552-1634) was a well-known government official who climbed his way up and down the ladder of politics in Early Modern England. There were accounts of sodomy and other sexually deviant practices that made their way to publication; however, Coke’s accounts of these sodomites have been found to be the most extensive. Kenneth Borris, the editor of Same Sex Desire in the English Renaissance: A Sourcebook of Texts, 1470-1650, includes some laws and punishments that Coke had written during his time concerning the acts of sodomy and the sodomite in general. Borris also chooses to include three scandals in which Coke refers to in the contexts of the laws and punishments. One of these scandals was the Stafford Scandal in 1607. The second, which was the only recorded documentation of same sex relations between women in the seventeenth century, was the sexual crimes committed between Sarah White Norman and Mary Vincent Hammon. The third scandal that Borris chooses to include in the Coke segments was the infamous Castlehaven Scandal, which I have previously documented. I believe that these laws, though they may not be directly related to or referred to within Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, give a lot of historical background pertaining to the treatment and conduct between the relations of males. I believe that I can use this information in discussing the relationships between Orsino and Cesario and even more fully in depth, I can discuss the relationship between Antonio and Sebastian.
Shakespeare, William, and Bruce R. Smith. Twelfth Night, Or, What You Will: Text and Context. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2001. 183-236. Print.
Twelfth Night, Or, What You Will: Text and Context was edited by Bruce R. Smith. This book contains Twelfth Night in its entirety as well as very useful footnotes and references provided by the editor. The first part of the book introduces and summarizes what the audience will find throughout the work. Part One is the play itself, but Part Two is where Smith introduces, educates, and analyzes the cultural contexts that surround the play history. In the cultural context, Smith covers Romance, Music, Sexuality, Clothing and Disguise, Household Economies, Puritan Probity, and Clowning and Laughter. I will be using concepts and historical themes from the Romance, Music, and Sexuality sections that Smith provides for his readers. I will focus very heavily on the third chapter, Sexuality. In this chapter, Smith relays the seventeenth-century idea about passions and love. I believe that I will be able to use a lot of this information from these pieces because they incorporate so many of the major themes, and understandings of those themes within the play. Love is an especially strong theme, though it is complicated and seemingly farce through much of Twelfth Night. In this edition of the play, Smith introduces the historical concepts of love and bonds between humans, in which the male friendship or bonds between men were considered the strongest physical human bonds. The countless relationships among the characters in Twelfth Night are extremely confusing and complicated but can be broken down and analyzed, bond-by-bond.
Similar Project from Previous Course Work (Previous Student of Dr. Susan Staub at Applachian State University: Amy Burnette)
https://sites.google.com/site/amykburnette/home