The Eucharist, Poetics, and Secularization from the Middle Ages to Milton

The Eucharist, Poetics, and Secularization explores how late medieval and early modern English poets used the Eucharist as a way to work out literary problems, tracing the connection from the fourteenth through the seventeenth century. It presents a history of eucharistic poetics as it appears in the work of seven key poets and challenges the argument that early modern poetry's fascination with the eucharist resulted from the Protestant rejection of transubstantiation. Instead, it suggests that what interested poets about the eucharist was its insistence that the mechanics of representation are always entangled with the self's relation to the body and to others.

Format: Hardback
Length: 304 pages
Publication date: 20 April 2023
Publisher: Oxford University Press

The Eucharist, Poetics, and Secularization from the Middle Ages to Milton delves into the remarkable significance of the Eucharist in the works of poets with diverse denominational affiliations, spanning a vast expanse of literary history. Whether they are engaged in prayer, contemplating politics, expressing sorrow over unrequited love, or indulging in humorous anecdotes, late medieval and early modern English poets consistently turn to the Eucharist as a means to resolve literary challenges. This book traces the thread of this connection from the fourteenth to the seventeenth century, unveiling how controversies surrounding the nature of signification in the sacrament shaped interpretations of poetry. Spanning the transition from medieval to early modern England, it presents a comprehensive history of Eucharistic poetics as it manifests in the writings of seven pivotal poets: the Pearl-poet, Chaucer, Robert Southwell, John Donne, George Herbert, Richard Crashaw, and John Milton. By reassessing this diverse range of poetic voices, The Eucharist, Poetics, and Secularization challenges the prevailing notion that the fascination with the Eucharist in early modern poetry arose solely from the Protestant rejection of transubstantiation and its associated enchanted worldview. Instead, the book offers a more expansive understanding of Eucharistic presence, demonstrating that what captivated poets about the Eucharist was its insistence that the mechanics of representation are intricately intertwined with the self's relationship to the body and to others. Thus, the book presents a fresh historical account of Eucharistic poetics, situating this literary phenomenon within a longstanding dialogue between embodiment and disembodiment in Western religious and cultural history.

Weight: 616g
Dimension: 240 x 164 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780192872876