Charlie Samuelson, "Courtly and Queer: Deconstruction, Desire, and Medieval French Literature" (Ohio State UP, 2022)
In\xa0Courtly and Queer: Deconstruction, Desire, and Medieval French Literature\xa0(Ohio State UP, 2022), Charlie Samuelson casts queerness in medieval French texts about courtly love in a new light by bringing together for the first time two exemplary genres: high medieval verse romance, associated with the towering figure of Chr\xe9tien de Troyes, and late medieval\xa0dits, primarily associated with Guillaume de Machaut. In close readings informed by deconstruction and queer theory, Samuelson argues that the genres\u2019 juxtaposition opens up radical new perspectives on the deviant poetics and gender and sexual politics of both. Contrary to a critical tradition that locates the queer Middle Ages at the margins of these courtly genres,\xa0Courtly and Queer\xa0emphasizes an unflagging queerness that is inseparable from poetic indeterminacy and that inhabits the core of a literary tradition usually assumed to be conservative and patriarchal. Ultimately,\xa0Courtly and Queer\xa0contends that one facet of texts commonly referred to as their \u201ccourtliness\u201d\u2014namely, their literary sophistication\u2014powerfully overlaps with modern conceptions of queerness.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices\nSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/gender-studies