Date of Award
Spring 5-2-2024
Abstract
The early modern period in England was a time of intense political, religious, and cultural upheaval. Between the Protestant Reformation and urbanization, England experienced significant ideological changes as well as the growing pains of overpopulation and plague in its major cities. The literature of the time illustrates the emotional complexity that many of the authors and citizens experienced firsthand as a result of the tumult in England. This thesis focuses specifically on the period during the reigns of Queen Elizabeth I and James I, using the works of Sir Philip Sidney and John Donne as structural buoys for the paper, and a mid-section focused on Shakespeare in order to identify three examples of literary sacrifice that comment on and critique the writers’ own experiences with the social, political, and religious landscape of early modern England. The theme of sacrifice became a vehicle for the early modern writers’ nuanced critiques of their own historical contexts. At the very heart of sacrifice is surrender: the authors were being asked to give something up in order to maintain harmony within their own communities and their literature comments on these sacrifices.
Advisor
Dr. Jayme Yeo
Committee Member 1
Dr. Caresse John
Committee Member 2
Dr. Jason Lovvorn
Department
English, Department of
College
Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, College of
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
Master of Arts (MA)
Degree Level
Master's
Degree Grantor
Belmont University
Recommended Citation
Patton, Kathryn C., "Sacrifice and Emotional Communities in Early Modern Literature" (2024). English Theses. 12.
https://repository.belmont.edu/english_theses/12
