Ludic Self in Seventeenth-Century English Literature

Anna K. Nardo is Professor of English Literature at Louisiana State University. She is the author of Milton's Sonnets and the Ideal Community.

• Acknowledgments1. Self and Play: Definitions 2. Hamlet, "A Man to Double Business Bound": An Example 3. Play and Historical Process 4. John Donne at Play in Between 5. George Herbert Pulling for Prime 6. Andrew Marvell Recreating the Self 7. Robert Burton's Play Therapy for a Melancholy Age 8. Sir Thomas Browne Turning the World Around for Recreation 9. Before and After: Folly and LeisureNotesBibliographyIndex

"The Ludic Self is refreshingly well written in clear prose that details the case for a playful reading of the seventeenth-century writers the text considers. As Nardo points out, many of these authors have been thought of as 'playful' in the past, but I know of no text that provides such a convincing view of their playfulness, in large part because Nardo's view of play is such a useful one and is so carefully and thoroughly presented. At the same time, it is clear that Nardo knows her material, knows the secondary sources, and has a sufficiently strong grounding in theoretical and psychoanalytical texts to provide a cogent and self-assured reading of the seventeenth century through the works she discusses. The reader has full confidence in the stance taken because of that self-assurance." — James S. Hans, Wake Forest University"The concept of play is central to the culture of the seventeenth century and to English literature in particular. Ms. Nardo convincingly illustrates its significance to the writers she has chosen, both in their texts and the critical contexts to which they relate." — Thomas Harrison, University of Pennsylvania