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Early Modern Women Writers and Humility as Rhetoric: Aemilia Lanyer's Table-Turning Use of Modesty

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2013, Master of Arts (M.A.), University of Dayton, English.
16th and 17th century women's writing contains a pervasive language of self-effacement, which has been documented and analyzed by scholars, but the focus remains on the sincerity of the act, even though humility was often employed as a successful rhetorical tool by both classic orators and Renaissance male writers. Aemilia Lanyer's Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum has been read in this tradition of sincere humility, and even when it has not, scholars have focused on the dedicatory paratext, thus minimizing Lanyer's poetic prowess. I argue that Lanyer's poem-proper employs modesty as a strategic rhetorical device, giving added credibility and importance to her work. By removing the lens of modesty as sincerity, I hope to encourage a reexamination of the texts of Renaissance women and remove them from their 'silent, chaste and obedient' allocation by/for the modern reader.
Elizabeth Mackay, Ph.D (Committee Co-Chair)
Rebecca Potter, Ph.D (Committee Co-Chair)
Sheila Hassell Hughes, Ph.D (Other)
43 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Sandy-Smith, K. L. (2013). Early Modern Women Writers and Humility as Rhetoric: Aemilia Lanyer's Table-Turning Use of Modesty [Master's thesis, University of Dayton]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1375221341

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Sandy-Smith, Kathryn. Early Modern Women Writers and Humility as Rhetoric: Aemilia Lanyer's Table-Turning Use of Modesty. 2013. University of Dayton, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1375221341.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Sandy-Smith, Kathryn. "Early Modern Women Writers and Humility as Rhetoric: Aemilia Lanyer's Table-Turning Use of Modesty." Master's thesis, University of Dayton, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1375221341

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)