RMMLA: 2005 Coeur d'Alene Convention Program RMMLA: Conference Abstract Display


Angelo Tricked: The Bed-Trick as Site of Male Prostitution in Shakespeare's Measure for Measure

In his recent discussion of gender and sexuality in Shakespeare's works, Bruce R. Smith contends that the Bard's plays often illustrate that 'masculinity is contingent in all sorts of ways' (Shakespeare and Masculinity 161). Masculinity, in other words, is a culturally determined phenomenon, a 'performance' that must be accomplished according to specific social criteria (2). Because masculinity is socially constructed, it can be subverted, disrupted, and exploited. This disruption is especially evident in Shakespeare's use of the bed-trick in Measure for Measure.

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