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1391. Baumgaertner, Jill Peláez. “Political Play and Theological Uncertainty in the Anniversaries.” JDJ 13: 29–49. Argues that, in addition to seeking the favor of the Drurys, Donne wrote the Anniversaries to attract the attention of King James and his heir, Prince Henry, godson of Elizabeth I, whose queenly and virginal “presence lurks just under the surface of the poems” (38). Notes that “within seven months of Henry’s investiture, and soon after the death of Elizabeth Drury, Donne was writing a poem in which he seemed very purposely to be invoking images and myths which had recently been re-introduced in the Prince’s honor” (39), but that after the prince’s death in 1612 Donne no longer makes references to Elizabeth as a second Virgin Mary since the notion “would no longer serve to ally [him] with the court mythologies” (40). Discusses how FirAn is “infused with much more of a Roman Catholic spirit” than is SecAn (41), a poem which “anchors Donne more firmly within a Reformation context” (42). Suggests that Donne’s theological predicament “seems similar to that of the English church at the time, which was its own creation— neither Catholic nor avowedly Lutheran nor completely Calvinist—but rather a combination of elements uniquely English” (43). Suggests that, in writing the Anniversaries, Donne, “attempting to prove himself ready once again for a public appointment, was actually proving to James that he was exactly the kind of Catholic the King wanted in his church” (44). Points out that James was eager to establish “a middle ground in religion” and argues that, “[m]otivated by the desire for personal aggrandizement, Donne seemed after a similar middle ground in his political posturings, which very naturally included his religious position .” Concludes that “[i]n attempting to attract the attention of the Drurys through the publication of these poems, Donne also revealed his astute awareness of the acceptable political metaphors of the time, metaphors which would do two things at once: lavishly memorialize the dead child, and compliment the Prince of Wales,” noting that “for this brief moment in history—1610–1612—these metaphors were viable” (46). 1392. Baumgaertner, Jill Peláez. “Rereading John Donne: The Art of Trompe-l’oeil.” Cresset 57, no. 7: 4–9. Analyzes the effects of trompe l’oeil in Battista Angolo del Moro’s painting A Vision of the Holy Family near Verona and suggests that its “ludic quality has some connections with the exaggerations, the riddles, and the jarring effect of the seventeenth-century metaphysical poem,” especially Donne’s religious poems. Maintains that “[t]o look for consistency in Donne is to miss the point,” because “[t]he dislocation of the reader is the point.” Argues that “we must read with our eyes open to the cultural, theological, and political inconsistencies in his verse in addition to indications that 1994 489 490 1994 in his poetry at least he never completely resolves his problem of doctrinal allegiance.” Insists that “[t]he greatest obstacle in the way of clear and fresh readings of Donne’s poems is the interpretive tradition that has already been established, a tradition which has ignored some of the major flaws in his poetry and has even held up some of its weaknesses as strengths” (8). Examines the theological inconsistencies and confusion in HSBatter and HSShow. 1393. Baumlin, James S. “Dialogue and Controversia in English Renaissance Literature: Historicizing the Reader’s Response.” PMPA 19: 1–20. Argues that “Renaissance literature is characteristically open to dialogue; that its orientation ‘toward the listener and his answer’ results from authors’ pervasive training in humanist rhetoric; that both dialogue specifically and rhetoric generally assume multiple, competing perspectives and the possibility that one’s arguments can be refuted; and, finally, that the age’s dialogism reveals habits of controversial thinking which are themselves premised in an attitude of skepticism.” Claims that “[a]ll of these elements— dialogism, rhetoric, controversial thinking, and skepticism—are the intellectual offspring of humanist education .” Focuses primarily on English love poetry in order “to suggest ways to synthesize these many facets of humanist intellectual culture within a student- and reader-centered pedagogy ” (5). Cites Flea as an example of dialogism, noting that the poem “presents two arguments simultaneously : the poet’s and, indirectly, the lady’s.” Points out that “the former asserts, and the later refutes, argument by analogy” (10) but that in the end it is “the reader’s turn to respond, to take the place of the...

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