1. The word and the flesh in early modern England -- 2. Beneath the skin : George Puttenham, Sir Philip Sidney and the experience of English poetry -- 3. Arming the reader : Sir Philip Sidney and the literature of choler -- 4. 'These spots are but the letters' : John Donne and the medicaments of elegy -- 5. Eating his words : Thomas Coryat and the art of indigestion -- 6. Touching stories : Richard Braithwait, Thomas Cranley and the origins of English pornography
Summary
"This book explores the power of literature to affect, for better or worse, readers' minds, bodies and souls. Considering texts by a broad range of early modern writers, Katharine A. Craik explores the ways in which literature not only inflamed the emotions, but also transformed the contours of the material body."--BOOK JACKET