Emotion and the Self in English Renaissance Literature

This Book Offers The First Full-Length Study Of Early Modern Contentment The Emotional And Ethical Principle That Became The Gold Standard Of English Protestant Psychology And An Abiding Concern Of English Renaissance Literature. Theorists And Literary Critics Have Equated Contentedness With Passivity Stagnation And Resignation. However This Book Excavates An Early Modern Understanding Of Contentment As Dynamic Protective And Productive. While This Concept Has Roots In Classical And Medieval Philosophy Contentment Became Newly Significant Because Of The English Reformation. Reformers Explored Contentedness As A Means To Preserve The Self And Prepare The Individual To Endure And Engage The Outside World. Their Efforts Existed Alongside Representations And Revisions Of Contentment By Authors Including Sidney Spenser Shakespeare And Milton. By Examining Renaissance Models Of Contentment This Book Explores Alternatives To Calvinist Despair Resists Scholarly Emphasis On Negative Emotions And Reaffirms The Value Of Formal Concerns To Studies Of Literature Religion And Affect.