Comparisons Are Odorous: The Early Modern English Olfactory and Literary Imagination Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of the Ohio State University By Colleen E. Kennedy, M.A. Graduate Program in English The Ohio State University 2015 Dissertation Committee: Dr. Christopher Highley, Advisor Dr. Richard Dutton Dr. Hannibal Hamlin ! ! ! ! ! Copyright by Colleen E. Kennedy 2015 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Abstract My dissertation elucidates olfactive discourses in early modern literature. I argue that an understanding of the smell-scape of the early modern world deepens our analysis of literary texts as familiar as those of Shakespeare, Donne, Dekker, Herrick, and Milton. Personal and bodily odors cannot be dichotomized into simple binaries of foul and fragrant, but rather were experienced as a complex and heady bouquet of competing scents. My analysis proves that personal and symbolic aromas seep into and affect the conventions of early modern literature in ways not previously recognized. Scent then, as now, functioned to conceal odors, to remove or obscure smells that might otherwise betray the wearer’s all too human imperfections, and to create alluring personal aromas. For this reason, animalistic scents—such as the popular perfume civet—occupy a complex place in early modern England because they mimic body odors that one might normally try to hide, yet were highly regarded scents. With the strong associations of scent with morality, artificial scent arouses suspicion, no matter how sweet the fragrance. By following the whiff of civet in early modern literature, I complicate the stereotypes of ! the perfumed courtier and the diseased prostitute, finding the olfactive language used to describe their stenches surprisingly does not differ that much from the royal scent of the monarch or the aroma of sanctity. ! ii! ! ! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Despite great interest in the early modern body and sensory studies, there is still a dearth of critical literature on the sense of smell, and this is why I find early modern olfaction such a fresh area of scholarship. This phenomenological approach allows us to consider how early modern writers experienced their own and others’ bodies. My analysis calls for a return to the text, as writers must grapple with metaphors as they attempt to define and describe something as elusive, ephemeral, and yet affective as an odor. As I explore the complexities of aromatic discourse, I recover a lexicon of olfactory imagery and stereotypes, challenge modern assumptions about early modern stench and hygienic practices, and suggest new ways of gaining access to the early modern cultural imagination. My dissertation is interdisciplinary, both in the broad range of literatures encountered, but also in my approach that brings together the processes of the literary scholar, the cultural historian, and the anthropologist. ! iii! ! ! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dedication For Jay ! iv! ! ! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Acknowledgements I would first like to thank Dr. Christopher Highley, my dissertation chair and advisor. When reading Joan Bolker’s Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day for a dissertation workshop, Dr. Bolker expresses the ideal dissertation advisor: “a mentor, an expert in your field, a coach, an editor, and a career counselor.” She then laments, “There are, however, very few beings who can fill that entire job description.” Dr. Highley, however, is exactly that sort of ideal dissertation advisor. I want to thank him for his years of guidance, support, patience, mentorship, and friendship. I would next like to thank my other committee members: Dr. Hannibal Hamlin and Dr. Richard Dutton. Dr. Hamlin supported my initial larger research inquiries— smells are important to Renaissance literature and we need to know more about them— knowing that a more nuanced argument would eventually emerge. He also made sure that I created a literary study rather than the cultural history that this project might have become. Dr. Dutton is an encyclopedia of early modern literature and culture, always making sure I finessed my points, and had my historical details correct. He also was very supportive of my professionalization, but encouraged me to stay on task with the dissertation. Both professors are also genuinely kind, supportive, and offered a lot of detailed feedback in the final revisions of the draft. ! v! ! ! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Ohio State University has been very good to me and there are honestly too many people to thank them all. I have benefitted from all the OSU Renaissance faculty’s collegiality, support, and conviviality. Dr. Alan Farmer offered great advice as I prepared for my candidacy exams and always challenged my thinking; Dr. Jennifer Higginbotham, a fellow-perfume lover, was supportive in many personal and professional aspects, and I especially enjoyed the week together at Stratford-upon-Avon; I looked forward to running into Dr. Luke Wilson at our neighborhood café to chat about the periphery of Renaissance theory, and for our annual drink at the SAA reception; Dr. Elizabeth Kolkavich was a discerning reader during our Renaissance dissertation meetings, and became one of my favorite conference friends; while Dr. Sarah Neville entered OSU as I was leaving, she offered advice as I transitioned onto the job market; and Dr. Eric Johnson, Curator of Early Books and Manuscripts, always kept me abreast on OSU’s extensive and relevant holdings for my project, and was a wonderful co-instructor in Introduction to Shakespeare. The Medieval andRenaissance graduate students were also instrumental in offering comments on my dissertation in progress, sending along relevant articles and “smelly” quotations from plays and poems, and, most importantly, offering moral support: especially Jonathan Holmes, Evan Thomas, Victoria Muñoz, Rachel Waymel, and Travis Neel. My MA advisor at University at Buffalo, Dr. Barbara Bono, remains one of my most steadfast supporters and I cannot thank her enough. Dr. Jim Holstun, my undergraduate honors thesis director at University at Buffalo, informed me of the realities of graduate school and the job market but encouraged my applications, nonetheless, and has continued to support my work. Dr. John Taylor and Dr. Christopher Madson, old ! vi! ! ! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! college friends from UB, have always been encouraging, loyal, inspiring friends. Dr. Scott Oldenburg, who remains a wonderful mentor, thank you for your continued advice. Amanda Davis: we have made this arduous journey together as we worked toward our graduate degrees, and I thank you for your comfy couch, cold beer, warm pets, and love of good music. You are the single hardest working graduate student I have ever met, like the James Brown of anthropology. At OSU, there were many people who were especially helpful in my last year, for technical, teaching, and financial help. I want to thank Dr. Amanpal Garcha, a wonderful Director of Graduate Students and a true advocate for graduate students; Dr. Debra Moddelmog, Chair of the English Department, who sent me my first welcome letter to OSU when I was accepted and has continued to be warm, welcoming, and a strong leader for the department; Dr. Sandra Macpherson, a truly inspiring and much-needed mentor and all around empowering friend and colleague; Mike Bierschenk, who was always willing to help me with a technical issue; Eddie Singleton, who let me teach from afar my last semester, making my life much less complicated; and Kathleen Griffin, a gifted Academic Program Coordinator, a friendly face, and always a calming presence during any of my many, many frequent anxious questions: thank you all. As a collector of perfumes, I like to find notes that are initially light and floral, but over time, develop a complex sillage. I have likewise collected a whole assortment of wonderful friends during my time at OSU, each beautifully fragrant in his or her own complex and heady ways: Dr. Kate Collins, Ann Glaviano, Dr. Cecily Hill, Dr. Erin Kelly, Dr. Niamh O’Leary, Dr. Chelsea Phillips, and J. Brendan Shaw. From tea-time study dates to wine-and-cheese nights, from seeing Shakespeare’s plays to dancing to ! vii! ! ! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! vinyl records, from zoo visits to spending an afternoon at the museum (or bar) during a conference weekend—you all kept me (relatively) sane, safe, and feeling loved. Thank you. During my time at OSU, I was lucky to have the financial support and fellowship funding to allow travel to international and national research archives, the funding to present at conferences, and support for writing without teaching duties. The Presidential Fellowship offered me a year of financial support to focus only on research and writing, and I thank my dauntless advisor Christopher Highley for his work in gathering letters from my committee members as well as outside readers Dr. Bruce R. Smith and Dr. Holly Dugan, whom I thank for their support, especially Dr. Dugan, who has consistently offered advice, produced letters on my behalf, and introduced me to some wonderful perfume scholars. Spending two summers in the UK and a year’s worth of weekends at the Folger Shakespeare Library allowed me to work in the archives with tangible and olfactive objects, which cannot be studied or encountered through interlibrary loans or by viewing webpages—pressed flowers, perfume bottles, pomanders, and manuscript recipes.