Introduction to The Art of Picturing in Early Modern English Literature

After tracing the complex panorama of the relationship between literature and the visual arts in the early modern period, and the state of the art of critical studies on this subject, the Introduction presents the features and novelty of the volume. In order to tackle the varied issues informing the current scholarly debate as well as present innovative readings in the field of intermedial studies, this volume provides a multifaceted exploration of the complex nexus between visual and verbal picturing in early modern English literature. Making use of diverse methodological approaches, the essays in this collection offer new perspectives on the literary modes of picturing, taking into account a variety of less-studied works and shedding light onto scarcely explored connections between this creative act and the context in which the examined texts developed. While some chapters propose original and enlightening readings of world-famous Shakespearean texts, the volume as a whole diverges from the “Bard-centered” production of recent years by considering works by a number of other authors, including Elizabethan “minor” sonnet sequences, anonymous plays and court masques. Thus, this collection intends to widen the gaze and present a more comprehensive and varied picture of the relationship between the visual and the verbal in the early modern period, while also contributing to the understanding of the literary context in which Shakespeare wrote. On the other hand, the attention devoted to the relationship between the literary creation and use of pictures and the artistic, religious and political background of early modern England and Europe fosters a deeper understanding of the many-sided dynamics at work in the process of incorporation of visual elements within a literary text.