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The Fury of Men's Gullets

Ben Jonson and the Digestive Canal

Bruce Thomas Boehrer author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:University of Pennsylvania Press

Published:29th Jan '97

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The Fury of Men's Gullets cover

Exploring the connections between food and identity, The Fury of Men's Gullets presents a fresh perspective on Jonson's literary contributions.

In The Fury of Men's Gullets, Bruce Boehrer delves into the poet's intriguing relationship with alimentary themes, examining how these references reflect Jonson's personal and cultural evolution. Through a comprehensive analysis of Jonson's diverse body of work, including plays, prose, and nondramatic verse, Boehrer sheds light on the sociohistorical implications of food. He explores the politics surrounding conspicuous consumption, the complex infrastructure of Jacobean London, and relevant elements of Renaissance medical practices and physiological theories.

Boehrer's work stands out for its unique interpretation of how Jonson constructs an early modern English literary sensibility. By intertwining the significance of food with broader cultural narratives, The Fury of Men's Gullets presents a fresh perspective on Jonson's writing. The book not only highlights the poet's fascination with culinary matters but also situates these interests within the context of societal changes and personal transformation during the Renaissance.

Ultimately, The Fury of Men's Gullets invites readers to reconsider the role of food in literature and its intricate connections to identity, politics, and culture. Boehrer's insightful analysis encourages a deeper understanding of how alimentary references can illuminate the complexities of early modern life and thought.

"Bruce Thomas Boehrer's resourceful sifting of Jonson's plays focuses on the network of tentacular roots animating their language. His concern to explore the furthest reaches of Jonson's metaphors of writing as ingestion, digestion, and excretion, might even be termed fundamental. It certainly hits pay-dirt." * London Review of Books *

ISBN: 9780812234084

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

248 pages