The Influence and Function of Medieval and Renaissance Iconology in English and American Literature

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The investigators of our research group have tried to reveal various aspects about "the influence and function of medieval and Renaissance iconology in the study of English and American literature," especially in connection with the use of visual images and symbols in their treatment of philosophical, religious, social and political themes in medieval and Renaissance literature and drama. Professor Yoshikawa, who mainly focuses his attention on Marvel's poetry, examines how closely the religious and political programs of 17th century England are intertwined in the texture of each of his poems and how successfully applicable iconographical analysis is to the tangles imagery that governs his poetry. Professor Yamada investigates the case of Inigo Jones' collaboration with Ben Jonson in their production of Stuart court masques. He discusses how keenly interested Jones was in producing a masque so as to appeal to the audience's sense of sight through the employment of visual elements of Re … More naissance art and architecture and through the use of Italianate costume and stage setting. Professor Iriko, a Hawthorn scholar who has studied the influence of the European Renaissance on the American culture of the Colonial period, conducts research into the Renaissance idea of melancholy and illustrates various aspects of this influence on Hawthorn's romances. Professor Imanishi, whose theory about Elizabethan theaters is that they were in a way essentially a rebirth or regeneration of temples and theaters of classical antiquity, studies the iconographical nature of the Elizabethan stage space, and examines the way Shakespeare succeeded in producing his last plays or Romances in his theater where he was able freely to negotiate with the spectators' sensibility towards the mystic and the cosmic. The chief investigator, Fujita, has been in constant liaison with each of the above members in order to maintain as much as possible the unity of the subjects of their individual investigations, and focuses his study on the iconographical quality and function of the classical columns that stood on the right and left sides of the open stage in the Elizabethan Globe Theater. Professor Monobe, a philosopher and aesthetician, meticulously provided each investigator with necessary scholarly information concerning iconology. His own study focuses on the aesthetic relationship between Sehen (seeing) and Dinge (a thing). His interest centers on the fact that what is scientifically or technically recognizable is by no means one and the same with what is perceptible through the senses, especially through the sense of sight. Less