DOCSLIB.ORG

Against the Straightgeist: Queer Artists, ``Shakespeare's England,'' and ``Today's London''

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Against the Straightgeist: Queer Artists, ``Shakespeare's England,'' and ``Today's London'' Against the Straightgeist: Queer Artists, “Shakespeare’s England,” and “Today’s London” Chantal Zabus To cite this version: Chantal Zabus. Against the Straightgeist: Queer Artists, “Shakespeare’s England,” and “Today’s London”. Etudes Anglaises, Klincksieck, 2008, Klincksieck | “ Études anglaises ”, Vol. 61 (61), pp. 279-289. hal-02054626 HAL Id: hal-02054626 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02054626 Submitted on 30 Mar 2019 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Copyright AGAINST THE STRAIGHTGEIST: QUEER ARTISTS, “SHAKESPEARE'S ENGLAND,” AND “TODAY'S LONDON” Chantal Zabus Klincksieck | « Études anglaises » Document téléchargé depuis www.cairn.info - Université d'Artois 109.128.233.189 21/12/2015 11h17. © Klincksieck 2008/3 Vol. 61 | pages 279 à 289 ISSN 0014-195X Article disponible en ligne à l'adresse : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.cairn.info/revue-etudes-anglaises-2008-3-page-279.htm -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- !Pour citer cet article : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chantal Zabus, « Against the Straightgeist: Queer Artists, “Shakespeare's England,” and “Today's London” », Études anglaises 2008/3 (Vol. 61), p. 279-289. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distribution électronique Cairn.info pour Klincksieck. © Klincksieck. Tous droits réservés pour tous pays. La reproduction ou représentation de cet article, notamment par photocopie, n'est autorisée que dans les limites des conditions générales d'utilisation du site ou, le cas échéant, des conditions générales de la licence souscrite par votre établissement. Toute autre reproduction ou représentation, en tout ou partie, sous quelque forme et de quelque manière que ce soit, est interdite sauf accord préalable et écrit de l'éditeur, en dehors des cas prévus par la législation en vigueur en France. Il est précisé que son stockage dans une base de données est également interdit. Document téléchargé depuis www.cairn.info - Université d'Artois 109.128.233.189 21/12/2015 11h17. © Klincksieck Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org) Chantal ZABUS Against the Straightgeist: Document téléchargé depuis www.cairn.info - Université d'Artois 109.128.233.189 21/12/2015 11h17. © Klincksieck Queer Artists, “Shakespeare’s England,” and “Today’s London” I aim to document the performance of gender not so much in Shakespeare’s England as in contemporary England in relation to Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Marlowe’s Edward II. I have chosen to focus on three moments of adaptations of the play by two British queer-identified authors, Derek Jarman and Philip Osment, and in two media—theatre and film. These liminal moments outline the semantic and ideological shift from “camp” to “gay” on to “queer.” Cette étude envisage la manière dont les rôles sexués et le genre étaient vécus non seulement dans l’Angleterre de la Renaissance mais également dans l’Angleterre contemporaine, à travers le prisme des adaptations au théâtre et à l’écran de La Tempête de Shakespeare et d’Edward II de Marlowe. Sont dès lors éclairés trois moments-clés de ces adaptations par deux artistes queer, Derek Jarman et Philip Osment, qui esquissent le glissement sémantique et idéologique du « camp » en passant par la mouvance « gay » pour aboutir au « queer ». 1611 is a watershed date of sorts. It is the date usually ascribed to the first performance of Shakespeare’s The Tempest but also the date of publication of John Florio’s Italian/English dictionary, which translates the “prostitute boy” or Italian catamíto as “one hired to sin against nature, an ingle, a ganymede” (Florio 88), as well as that of the famous Authorised version of the Bible by James I’s Biblical scholars. When they came to Chapter Six of the first epistle to the Corinthians, they encountered two Greek words, malakoi v and arsenokoiv ta> which could be associated with homosexuality. Alan Bray mentions that “the first [word] they translated as ‘effeminate,’ a word which then lacked the specifically homosexual connotations it was later to acquire, the second they translated by . a description colored by their disapproval: ‘abusers of themselves with mankind’” (Bray 13). Three hundred years later, the two Greek words were translated by “homosexuals.” The performance of gender in Shakespeare’s England is a topos in Shakespeare studies (Orgel 102-104), if only for the Chantal ZABUS, Against the Straightgeist: Queer Artists, “Shakespeare’s England,” and “Today’s London”, ÉA 61-3 (2008): 279-289. © Klincksieck. Document téléchargé depuis www.cairn.info - Université d'Artois 109.128.233.189 21/12/2015 11h17. © Klincksieck EEA3-2008.indbA3-2008.indb 279279 220/11/080/11/08 113:39:453:39:45 280 Études Anglaises — 61-3 (2008) fact that the Elizabethan stage provided an arena where the rhetoric of male friendship, cross-dressing, transvestitism, and changing gender definitions could be displayed. Anxieties about women’s roles being played by men could be expressed, and, more largely, “cultural anxiety” (Garber 32) around the possibility that (sexual) identity was not fixed. This spate of studies, which then proliferated in the late 1990s (e.g. Dollimore, Goldberg, Hammill, Holderness, Masten, Rambuss, Rocke, Document téléchargé depuis www.cairn.info - Université d'Artois 109.128.233.189 21/12/2015 11h17. © Klincksieck Sinfield), set the stage for a general queering of Shakespeare and his contemporaries. Critics identified homosexual characters in Shakespeare’s plays, such as Antonio in The Merchant of Venice and his namesakes in Twelfth Night and The Tempest. Because The Tempest features a most unholy trinity—Prospero, Caliban, Ariel—and focuses on half-families or one-parent households—Sycorax/Caliban, Prospero/Miranda—as well as for other reasons which I have elucidated elsewhere (Zabus 2002), it has endured, more so than any other Shakespeare play, as a site of rewriting, appropriations, and negotiations that helped reshuffle priorities in the circulation of knowledge at the outset of the second millennium. I have chosen to focus on three moments of adaptations of The Tempest (as well as Christopher Marlowe’s Edward II) by two British queer-identified authors, Derek Jarman and Philip Osment, who outline the semantic and ideological shift from “camp” to “gay” on to “queer.” The issue of sexuality is part of the late Jarman’s agenda as a militant campaigner against Heterosoc (or ‘heterosexual society’) and for gay freedom. His film Caravaggio (1987) concentrates on the artist’s position as a homosexual during the Renaissance whereas The Angelic Conversation conjures up the romantic feelings between two young men on a summer afternoon and tenderly evokes Shakespeare’s Sonnets. Jarman’s film adaptation of The Tempest (1979) is set within the quintessentially British confines of Stoneleigh Abbey in Warwickshire, not so incidentally, Shakespeare’s county. In the powdery Georgian wing of the Abbey, filled with strange relics, curios, and paneled walls scrawled with alchemical and cabalistic symbols, a seductive Prospero with Beethoven features (Heathcote Williams) is busy hatching vengeance against his usurpers. The rather sedate Miranda of The Tempest is played by Toyah Willcox, who is associated with British popular, street culture, and punk sensibility. Prospero is a peevish master to Caliban (Jack Birkett), a grimy-toothed lecher greedily sucking raw eggs and rubbing his crotch, and to Ariel (Karl Johnson), an anxious boiler-suited worker, who often looks like a future- shocked zombie contemptuous of the “meat” of the human body. That the staging of events takes place in Prospero’s wide-screen cranium confirms him as a heliocentric arch-magician of the screen, who here conjures up James I as the author of Daemonologie or John Dee, Elizabeth I’s magician, who had already enthralled Jarman’s imagination in his Jubilee (1978), for he revisits the Virgin Queen 400 years before, as her magus escorts her through time into the contemporary devastation of 1970s punk London. The homoerotic complicity between Prospero and Ariel comes to Document téléchargé depuis www.cairn.info - Université d'Artois 109.128.233.189 21/12/2015 11h17. © Klincksieck EEA3-2008.indbA3-2008.indb 280280 220/11/080/11/08 113:39:463:39:46 Shakespeare’s England and Today’s London 281 the fore when Ariel’s line about Ferdinand—“The King’s son have I landed by himself” (I, 2: 221)—is followed by a meaningful chuckle that suggests that both master and slave could “share” Ferdinand. A flashback reveals Caliban and Ariel being perversely enthralled to the witch of Algiers, portrayed as a white, ample, naked, and grotesque Sycorax (Claire Davenport), smoking a hookah and, in a descending shot, guiding her left nipple to the greedy mouth of a grown, naked, drooling
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 1 Achilles and Patroclus in the Trojan War: an Introductory Case Study
    Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-89582-8 - Interpreting the Images of Greek Myths: An Introduction Klaus Junker Excerpt More information 1 Achilles and Patroclus in the Trojan War: An introductory case study From early times, the use of the bow and arrow formed a part of Greek military practice, as a dangerous long-range weapon. If the arrow had not struck an immediately fatal blow, it could still be the cause of insidious wounds. If the arrowhead had become completely embedded in the body and perhaps, in the heat of the battle, broken off from the shaft, then the removal of the metal would cause acute pain and, in certain circumstances, cause further damage to the tissues surrounding the wound. In the detailed battle descriptions of the Iliad, wounds caused by arrows are mentioned on various occasions. When the Greek Menelaus has just been struck by an arrow, his initial fear gives way to relief that the binding, which attaches the arrowhead to the shaft, is still visible (4, 150–1): the wound cannot be deep and the damage is therefore slight. So too in the picture that will now be used as a test case for interpretation (Fig. 1), the warrior has been lucky in his misfortune. The arrow portrayed in beautiful detail in the left foreground, so as to put the cause of the wound in his arm beyond all doubt, is still complete and, at the most, slightly bent at the tip, unless the small irregularity in the drawing is unintentional. Yet the abrupt turn away of the head and the open mouth, with the teeth visible and coated in added white, convey something of the pain that the man feels, as his comrade-in-arms applies the bandage to his arm.
    [Show full text]
  • Queerness in French Baroque Opera: the Relationship Between Achilles and Patroclus in Jean Baptiste Lully’S Achille Et Polyxène
    University of Northern Colorado Scholarship & Creative Works @ Digital UNC Master's Theses Student Research 5-7-2021 Queerness in French Baroque Opera: The Relationship Between Achilles and Patroclus in Jean Baptiste Lully’s Achille et Polyxène Jason Thompson [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digscholarship.unco.edu/theses Recommended Citation Thompson, Jason, "Queerness in French Baroque Opera: The Relationship Between Achilles and Patroclus in Jean Baptiste Lully’s Achille et Polyxène" (2021). Master's Theses. 210. https://digscholarship.unco.edu/theses/210 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Research at Scholarship & Creative Works @ Digital UNC. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of Scholarship & Creative Works @ Digital UNC. For more information, please contact [email protected]. © 2021 JASON TRAVIS THOMPSON ALL RIGHTS RESERVED UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN COLORADO Greeley, Colorado The Graduate School QUEERNESS IN FRENCH BAROQUE OPERA: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ACHILLES AND PATROCLUS IN JEAN-BAPTISTE LULLY’S ACHILLE ET POLYXÈNE A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Music Jason Travis Thompson College of Performing and Visual Arts School of Music Music History and Literature May 2021 This Thesis by: Jason Travis Thompson Entitled: Queerness in French Baroque Opera: The Relationship Between Achilles and Patroclus in Jean Baptiste Lully’s Achille et Polyxène has been approved as meeting the requirement for the Degree of Master of Music in the College of Performing and Visual Arts in the School of Music, Program of Music History and Literature.
    [Show full text]
  • Shakespeare on Film, Video & Stage
    William Shakespeare on Film, Video and Stage Titles in bold red font with an asterisk (*) represent the crème de la crème – first choice titles in each category. These are the titles you’ll probably want to explore first. Titles in bold black font are the second- tier – outstanding films that are the next level of artistry and craftsmanship. Once you have experienced the top tier, these are where you should go next. They may not represent the highest achievement in each genre, but they are definitely a cut above the rest. Finally, the titles which are in a regular black font constitute the rest of the films within the genre. I would be the first to admit that some of these may actually be worthy of being “ranked” more highly, but it is a ridiculously subjective matter. Bibliography Shakespeare on Silent Film Robert Hamilton Ball, Theatre Arts Books, 1968. (Reissued by Routledge, 2016.) Shakespeare and the Film Roger Manvell, Praeger, 1971. Shakespeare on Film Jack J. Jorgens, Indiana University Press, 1977. Shakespeare on Television: An Anthology of Essays and Reviews J.C. Bulman, H.R. Coursen, eds., UPNE, 1988. The BBC Shakespeare Plays: Making the Televised Canon Susan Willis, The University of North Carolina Press, 1991. Shakespeare on Screen: An International Filmography and Videography Kenneth S. Rothwell, Neil Schuman Pub., 1991. Still in Movement: Shakespeare on Screen Lorne M. Buchman, Oxford University Press, 1991. Shakespeare Observed: Studies in Performance on Stage and Screen Samuel Crowl, Ohio University Press, 1992. Shakespeare and the Moving Image: The Plays on Film and Television Anthony Davies & Stanley Wells, eds., Cambridge University Press, 1994.
    [Show full text]
  • Between Boys: Fantasy of Male Homosexuality in Boys' Love, Mary Renault, and Marguerite Yourcenar by Jui-An Chou Graduate Pr
    Between Boys: Fantasy of Male Homosexuality in Boys’ Love, Mary Renault, and Marguerite Yourcenar by Jui-an Chou Graduate Program in Literature Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Anne F. Garréta, Supervisor, Chair ___________________________ Robyn Wiegman, Co-Chair ___________________________ Rey Chow ___________________________ Anne Allison Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate Program in Literature in the Graduate School of Duke University 2018 ABSTRACT Between Boys: Fantasy of Male Homosexuality in Boys’ Love, Mary Renault, and Marguerite Yourcenar by Jui-an Chou Graduate Program in Literature Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Anne F. Garréta, Supervisor, Chair ___________________________ Robyn Wiegman, Co-Chair ___________________________ Rey Chow ___________________________ Anne Allison An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate Program in Literature in the Graduate School of Duke University 2018 Copyright by Jui-an Chou 2018 Abstract “Between Boys: Fantasy of Male Homosexuality in Boys’ Love, Mary Renault, and Marguerite Yourcenar” examines an unexpected kinship between Boys’ Love, a Japanese male-on-male romance genre, and literary works by Mary Renault and Marguerite Yourcenar, two mid-twentieth century authors who wrote about male homosexuality. Following Eve Sedgwick, who proposed that a “rich tradition of cross- gender inventions of homosexuality” should be studied separately from gay and lesbian literature, this dissertation examines male homoerotic fictions authored by women. These fictions foreground a disjunction between authorial and textual identities in gender and sexuality, and they have often been accused of inauthenticity, appropriation, and exploitation.
    [Show full text]
  • \376\377\000C\000O\000R\000N\000E
    Whose New World? Derek Jarman’s Subversive Vision of The Tempest (1979) Cornelis Martin Renes Universitat de Barcelona [email protected] This paper reassesses Derek Jarman’s film The Tempest (1979) against recent developments in film adaptation theory in order to reach conclusions about its controversial handling of the Shakespearean source material. After locating the film’s lack of general critical acclaim in the practice of fidelity criticism , an overview of film adaptation theory is given, and recent ideas are applied to the film’s content and structure, placing it in the context of British counterculture in the 1970s. Jarman’s Tempest is analysed by discussing the film’s protagonists in terms of gender, considering its director’s choices of characterisation and plot against the backdrop of queer politics. First Miranda’s relationship with Prospero and Ferdinand is placed within a gendered context of geopolitical conflict; next, the characterisation of Caliban as non-racialised, non-threatening and essentially human is seen as the result of Jarman’s queer agenda; finally, Ariel and Caliban are contrasted as conflicting sexual tendencies within Prospero, interiorising the film’s action in his mind as an allegory of the release of homoerotic desire. As a result, Jarman’s rewriting of the original is seen as a subversive deconstruction in service of his gay politics, to be appreciated as an independent piece of art. Keywords: British counterculture; deconstruction; film adaptation theory; queer politics; Shakespearean romance. Este ensayo considera la película The Tempest de Derek Jarman (1979) a partir de aportaciones recientes a la teoría de la adaptación cinematográfica, con el objetivo de llegar a conclusiones sobre el polémico tratamiento del material Shakespeariano.
    [Show full text]
  • Homer the Iliad
    1 Homer The Iliad Translated by Ian Johnston Open access: http://johnstoniatexts.x10host.com/homer/iliadtofc.html 2010 [Selections] CONTENTS I THE QUARREL BY THE SHIPS 2 II AGAMEMNON'S DREAM AND THE CATALOGUE OF SHIPS 5 III PARIS, MENELAUS, AND HELEN 6 IV THE ARMIES CLASH 6 V DIOMEDES GOES TO BATTLE 6 VI HECTOR AND ANDROMACHE 6 VII HECTOR AND AJAX 6 VIII THE TROJANS HAVE SUCCESS 6 IX PEACE OFFERINGS TO ACHILLES 6 X A NIGHT RAID 10 XI THE ACHAEANS FACE DISASTER 10 XII THE FIGHT AT THE BARRICADE 11 XIII THE TROJANS ATTACK THE SHIPS 11 XIV ZEUS DECEIVED 11 XV THE BATTLE AT THE SHIPS 11 XVI PATROCLUS FIGHTS AND DIES 11 XVII THE FIGHT OVER PATROCLUS 12 XVIII THE ARMS OF ACHILLES 12 XIX ACHILLES AND AGAMEMNON 16 XX ACHILLES RETURNS TO BATTLE 16 XXI ACHILLES FIGHTS THE RIVER 17 XXII THE DEATH OF HECTOR 17 XXIII THE FUNERAL GAMES FOR PATROCLUS 20 XXIV ACHILLES AND PRIAM 20 I THE QUARREL BY THE SHIPS [The invocation to the Muse; Agamemnon insults Apollo; Apollo sends the plague onto the army; the quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon; Calchas indicates what must be done to appease Apollo; Agamemnon takes Briseis from Achilles; Achilles prays to Thetis for revenge; Achilles meets Thetis; Chryseis is returned to her father; Thetis visits Zeus; the gods con-verse about the matter on Olympus; the banquet of the gods] Sing, Goddess, sing of the rage of Achilles, son of Peleus— that murderous anger which condemned Achaeans to countless agonies and threw many warrior souls deep into Hades, leaving their dead bodies carrion food for dogs and birds— all in fulfilment of the will of Zeus.
    [Show full text]
  • ' There's No Such Thing As Too Judgmental'
    Review Saturday 28 August 2021 – Issue № 188 ‘ There’s no such thing as too judgmental’ — Fran Lebowitz talks to Hadley Freeman ‘For so many years, books were a home for me. I wanted to write the kind Review of story with open arms, Saturday 28 August 2021 – Issue № 188 with room for everyone who might want to come in.’ — Madeline Miller, page 26 Contents The week in books ............................................................................................04 The books that made me by Chris Riddell ....................................................05 COVER STORY Fran Lebowitz talks to Hadley Freeman.........................06 Book of the week: Being You: A New Science of Consciousness by Anil Seth ................................................................................................10 Nonfi ction reviews The Story of Work: A New History of Humankind by Jan Lucassen and The Man Who Mistook His Job for His Life: How to Thrive at Work by Leaving Your Emotional Bagg age Behind by Naomi Shragai .................12 Crude Britannia: How Oil Shaped a Nation by James Marriott & Terry Macalister ....................................................13 Tunnel 29: The True Story of an Extraordinary Escape Beneath the Berlin Wall by Helena Merriman ............................................14 Strangers on a Pier: A Portrait of a Family by Tash Aw .................................15 Fiction reviews More Than I Love My Life by David Grossman ...............................................16 The Infernal Riddle of Thomas Peach by Jas
    [Show full text]
  • Bamcinématek Presents Queer Pagan Punk: the Films of Derek Jarman, Oct 30—Nov 11
    BAMcinématek presents Queer Pagan Punk: The Films of Derek Jarman, Oct 30—Nov 11 A complete retrospective of Jarman’s 12 feature films, the most comprehensive New York series in nearly two decades New restorations of debut feature Sebastiane and Caravaggio “It feels like the correct time to be reminded of an ancient tradition that has always served civilization well, that of the independent, truth-telling poet provocateur.”—Tilda Swinton The Wall Street Journal is the title sponsor for BAMcinématek and BAM Rose Cinemas. Brooklyn, NY/Sep 30, 2014—From Thursday, October 30 through Tuesday, November 11, BAMcinématek presents Queer Pagan Punk: The Films of Derek Jarman, a comprehensive retrospective of iconoclastic British filmmaker and crusading gay rights activist Derek Jarman, following its run at the BFI this spring. Jarman not only redefined queer cinema, but reimagined moviemaking as a means for limitless personal expression. From classical adaptations to historical biographies to avant-garde essay films, he crafted a body of work that was at once personal and political, during a difficult period when British independent cinema was foundering and the AIDS crisis provoked a wave of panic and homophobia. Also a poet, diarist, and painter, Jarman first entered the realm of the movies as a production designer for Ken Russell. The Devils (1971—Oct 31), Russell’s controversial opus of repressed nuns and witchcraft trials, played out in a 17th-century French village that Jarman spent a year creating. His own first feature, Sebastiane (1976—Nov 9), playing in a new restoration, placed a daring emphasis on male nudity and eroticism as it chronicled the death of the Christian martyr; Jarman called it “the first film that depicted homosexuality in a completely matter-of-fact way.” A time-traveling Queen Elizabeth I wanders among the ruins of a dystopic modern London in Jubilee (1978—Oct 30), a shot-in-the-streets survey of the burgeoning punk scene that captures early performances by Adam Ant, Wayne County, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and the Slits.
    [Show full text]
  • Troy Myth and Reality
    Part 1 Large print exhibition text Troy myth and reality Please do not remove from the exhibition This two-part guide provides all the exhibition text in large print. There are further resources available for blind and partially sighted people: Audio described tours for blind and partially sighted visitors, led by the exhibition curator and a trained audio describer will explore highlight objects from the exhibition. Tours are accompanied by a handling session. Booking is essential (£7.50 members and access companions go free) please contact: Email: [email protected] Telephone: 020 7323 8971 Thursday 12 December 2019 14.00–17.00 and Saturday 11 January 2020 14.00–17.00 1 There is also an object handling desk at the exhibition entrance that is open daily from 11.00 to 16.00. For any queries about access at the British Museum please email [email protected] 2 Sponsor’sThe Trojan statement War For more than a century BP has been providing energy to advance human progress. Today we are delighted to help you learn more about the city of Troy through extraordinary artefacts and works of art, inspired by the stories of the Trojan War. Explore the myth, archaeology and legacy of this legendary city. BP believes that access to arts and culture helps to build a more inspired and creative society. That’s why, through 23 years of partnership with the British Museum, we’ve helped nearly five million people gain a deeper understanding of world cultures with BP exhibitions, displays and performances. Our support for the arts forms part of our wider contribution to UK society and we hope you enjoy this exhibition.
    [Show full text]
  • Queer Friendship and Erotic Bonds a Dissertation Submitted in Partial Sa
    UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE Anarchic Intimacies: Queer Friendship and Erotic Bonds A Dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English by Laurence Hilary Dumortier March 2017 Dissertation Committee: Dr. Jennifer Doyle, Chairperson Dr. Steven Gould Axelrod Dr. George E. Haggerty Copyright by Laurence Hilary Dumortier 2017 The Dissertation of Laurence Hilary Dumortier is approved: Committee Chairperson University of California, Riverside Acknowledgments I would like to acknowledge the tremendous support and guidance of my dissertation committee, Jennifer Doyle, Steven Gould Axelrod and George E. Haggerty. Their advice, suggestions and encouragement have been invaluable. I also want to recognize how inspiring they have been to me as examples of brilliant scholarship, dedicated teaching, and personal integrity. I’m also grateful to Stephen Koch who granted me several lengthy personal interviews about his recollections of Peter Hujar and David Wojnarowicz, and who allowed me to study previously unpublished photographs and contact sheets from the Peter Hujar Archive. iv ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Anarchic Intimacies: Queer Friendship and Erotic Bonds by Laurence Hilary Dumortier Doctor of Philosophy, Graduate Program in English University of California, Riverside, March 2017 Dr. Jennifer Doyle, Chairperson What makes a friendship “queer”? The queerness of the friendships I will explore in this project is, in part related to, but not co-extensive with, the sexual orientation of its participants. In all of the pairings I examine, at least one, if not both, of the friends is non- heterosexual. However, what makes the “queerness” of each of these friendships is not only the orientation of its participants, but the relationship’s exceeding of the conventional boundaries and definitions of friendships.
    [Show full text]
  • Sing, Goddess, Sing of the Rage of Achilles, Son of Peleus—
    Homer, Iliad Excerpts 1 HOMER, ILIAD TRANSLATION BY IAN JOHNSTON Dr. D’s note: These are excerpts from the complete text of Johnston’s translation, available here. The full site shows original line numbers, and has some explanatory notes, and you should use it if you use this material for one of your written topics. Book I: The quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon begins The Greeks have been waging war against Troy and its allies for 10 years, and in raids against smaller allies, have already won war prizes including women like Chryseis and Achilles’ girl, Briseis. Sing, Goddess, sing of the rage of Achilles, son of Peleus— that murderous anger which condemned Achaeans to countless agonies and threw many warrior souls deep into Hades, leaving their dead bodies carrion food for dogs and birds— all in fulfilment of the will of Zeus. Start at the point where Agamemnon, son of Atreus, that king of men, quarrelled with noble Achilles. Which of the gods incited these two men to fight? That god was Apollo, son of Zeus and Leto. Angry with Agamemnon, he cast plague down onto the troops—deadly infectious evil. For Agamemnon had dishonoured the god’s priest, Chryses, who’d come to the ships to find his daughter, Chryseis, bringing with him a huge ransom. In his hand he held up on a golden staff the scarf sacred to archer god Apollo. He begged Achaeans, above all the army’s leaders, the two sons of Atreus: “Menelaus, Agamemnon, sons of Atreus, all you well-armed Achaeans, may the gods on Olympus grant you wipe out Priam’s city, and then return home safe and sound.
    [Show full text]
  • This Book — the Only History of Friendship in Classical Antiquity That Exists in English
    This book — the only history of friendship in classical antiquity that exists in English - examines the nature of friendship in ancient Greece and Rome from Homer (eighth century BC) to the Christian Roman Empire of the fourth century AD. Although friendship is throughout this period conceived of as a voluntary and loving relationship (contrary to the prevailing view among scholars), there are major shifts in emphasis from the bonding among warriors in epic poetry, to the egalitarian ties characteristic of the Athenian democracy, the status-con- scious connections in Rome and the Hellenistic kingdoms, and the commitment to a universal love among Christian writers. Friendship is also examined in relation to erotic love and comradeship, as well as for its role in politics and economic life, in philosophical and religious communities, in connection with patronage and the private counsellors of kings, and in respect to women; its relation to modern friendship is fully discussed. Cambridge Books Online © Cambridge University Press, 2010 Downloaded from Cambridge Books Online by IP 147.231.79.110 on Thu May 20 13:43:40 BST 2010. Cambridge Books Online © Cambridge University Press, 2010 Cambridge Books Online © Cambridge University Press, 2010 Downloaded from Cambridge Books Online by IP 147.231.79.110 on Thu May 20 13:43:40 BST 2010. Cambridge Books Online © Cambridge University Press, 2010 KEYTHEMES IN ANCIENT HISTORY Friendship in the classical world Cambridge Books Online © Cambridge University Press, 2010 Downloaded from Cambridge Books Online by IP 147.231.79.110 on Thu May 20 13:43:40 BST 2010. Cambridge Books Online © Cambridge University Press, 2010 KEY THEMES IN ANCIENT HISTORY EDITORS Dr P.
    [Show full text]