ABSTRACT
The Introduction provides an outline of the theoretical and historical contexts of the volume’s discussion, as well as an elaboration of its central hypothesis—that the masculinities represented in Elizabethan verse satire were often at odds or uncomfortably aligned with prevalent patriarchal norms. The sections of the Introduction discuss the general connections between satire as an art form and notions of masculinity; the Inns of Court and universities (where the satirists covered in this volume were students) as masculine spaces; the relation between satire and early modern male friendship; the wider context of early modern emotions as represented by male satirists; and the representation of masculinity in the classical heritage from Roman satire and in the figure of the satyr, which was long thought to be etymologically linked to satire. Lastly, the Introduction provides overviews of the individual chapters and the Coda.
