Introduction: Figuring Early Modern Sex
Introduction: Figuring Early Modern Sex
This introductory chapter provides a background to the definition of “sex” through a description of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, where the characters Lysander and Hermia exchanged a dialogue about whether to sleep apart or together. It talks about the recent study conducted by the Kinsey Institute, which emphasizes that sex is a non-self-identical concept that is subject to different constructions and plays different roles within narratives of sexuality, love, intimacy, relationality, pleasure, criminality, and reproduction. The chapter concludes with an analysis of early modern and modern forms of the narratives about sex, addressing what sex is and how people construct knowledge about sex.
Keywords: sex, Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Lysander, Hermia, sexuality, love
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