Lost In The Valley

Abstract

Looking at neohistoricism and criticism of it as an approach to some Renaissance prose, this essay notes the current inattention to most of that prose and specifically instances of the genre of the ‘character.’ The character was a frequent topic of such authors as John Donne, Joseph Hall, Thomas Dekker, John Earle, Thomas Fuller, and Richard Flecknoe. The character depicts both a stereotyping (often with satiric intent) and a cultural analysis of the times, telling us much about the people and society of that age. Examined are particularly the ‘characters’ written by Donne, Earle, and Dekker. Relationships within those writings to drama and poetry of the period not only point up their appearance, but also yield interpretations that have often been slighted.