Overview

Textiles have long provided metaphors for storytelling: a compelling novel ""weaves a tapestry"" and we enjoy hearing someone ""spin"" a tale. To what extent, however, should we take these metaphors seriously? Arras Hanging: The Textile That Determined Early Modern Literature and Drama reveals that in the early modern period, when cloth-making was ubiquitous and high-quality tapestries called arras hangings were the most valuable objects in England, such metaphors were literal. The arras in particular provided a narrative model for writers such as Edmund Spenser and William Shakespeare, who exploited their audience's familiarity with weaving to engage them in highly idiosyncratic and ""hands on"" ways. Specifically, undescribed or ""blank"" tapestries in the period's fiction presented audiences with opportunities to ""see"" whatever they desired, and thus weave themselves into the story. Far more than background objects, literary and dramatic arras hangings have much to teach us about the intersections between texts and textiles at the dawn of print, and, more broadly, about the status of visual art in post-Reformation England. Published by University of Delaware Press. Distributed worldwide by Rutgers University Press.

Full Product Details

Author:   Rebecca Olson
Publisher:   University of Delaware Press
Imprint:   University of Delaware Press
Dimensions:   Width: 14.90cm , Height: 1.00cm , Length: 23.00cm
Weight:   0.415kg
ISBN:  

9781644530672

ISBN 10:   1644530678
Pages:   180
Publication Date:   26 September 2013
Recommended Age:   From 16 to 99 years
Audience:   College/higher education ,  College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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The book is an imaginative survey of tapestries as material objects, representations, theatrical furnishings, poetic figures, and still more.--American Behavioral Scientist

Author Information

Rebecca Olson is Associate Professor in the School of Writing, Literature, and Film at Oregon State University. Her ongoing research interests include word and image studies, early modern material culture, and Tudor poetry and drama.

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