Form and Foreskin
Medieval Narratives of Circumcision
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Form and Foreskin is accessible, fun, and provocative … Strouse’s linked, essay-like chapters engage wonderfully odd stories and include many incisive new analyses.
Form and Foreskin is a new, original, and compelling experiment in close reading. Looking through the lens of circumcision at pastoral literature and poetry in Latin, Middle English and English, Strouse writes in a dynamic, engaging manner that will be of interest especially to scholars of Middle English literature and those who work on queer studies and studies of masculinity.
Strouse’s writing is simply delicious. I cannot recall the last time I laughed myself into tears while reading an academic book. The margins of my copy are peppered with such highbrow academic comments as ‘LOL’ and ‘I have died and gone to pun heaven.’ This playful read will certainly delight anyone interested in poetics, medieval narrative, and queer theology.---Jeannie Sellick, Theology & Sexuality
...scholars from different areas may find this book both useful and enjoyable... Strouse manages to develop his argumentation with a vivid and enjoyable tone, making Form and Foreskin a pleasant read...
Form & Foreskin is a delightful, intense, and pleasurable read. . . Strouse appeals to students and all readers, wanting to make them think deeply about these issues, and in the process they help make medieval literature deeply relevant to all our lives, to all our bodies. An exciting and joyful reading experience.
Form and Foreskin is, by any measure, an impressive monograph.
Introduction | 1
1. The Gospel According to the Foreskin | 11
2. Saint Augustine and the Boy with the Long Foreskin | 32
3. Nicking Sir Gawain | 50
4. The Foreskin of Marriage | 82
Coda | 103
Acknowledgments | 109
Notes | 111
Index | 151
