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12. William Baldwin, Beware the Cat (1553/1570)

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Handbook of English Renaissance Literature
This chapter is in the book Handbook of English Renaissance Literature

Abstract

William Baldwin’s Beware the Cat, which has been labelled ‘the first English novel’, is of particular interest for the development of vernacular prose fiction. Beware the Cat presents itself as a history with claims of factual accuracy, while at the same time highlighting its unreliability and fictionality through fantastical tales about speaking cats. Along these contradictory lines, it explores questions of religious confession, of spiritual and sexual betrayal, of surveillance and secrecy, and, importantly for the development of prose fiction, of the reliability of oral and written stories. Written during the Reformation debates, the narrative mimics anti-Catholic propaganda, but its elaborate narrative form creates ambiguity and playfulness that ultimately undercut any straightforward didacticism. Juxtaposing medium and message, Beware the Cat has it both ways: it offers, as its full title announces, a “pleasant and merry” “marvelous hystory”, and at the same time encourages readers to beware of “wounderfull and incredible matters” set forth by fiction.

Abstract

William Baldwin’s Beware the Cat, which has been labelled ‘the first English novel’, is of particular interest for the development of vernacular prose fiction. Beware the Cat presents itself as a history with claims of factual accuracy, while at the same time highlighting its unreliability and fictionality through fantastical tales about speaking cats. Along these contradictory lines, it explores questions of religious confession, of spiritual and sexual betrayal, of surveillance and secrecy, and, importantly for the development of prose fiction, of the reliability of oral and written stories. Written during the Reformation debates, the narrative mimics anti-Catholic propaganda, but its elaborate narrative form creates ambiguity and playfulness that ultimately undercut any straightforward didacticism. Juxtaposing medium and message, Beware the Cat has it both ways: it offers, as its full title announces, a “pleasant and merry” “marvelous hystory”, and at the same time encourages readers to beware of “wounderfull and incredible matters” set forth by fiction.

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Editors’ Preface V
  3. Contents VII
  4. Introduction 1
  5. Part I: Systematic Questions
  6. 1. Editing English Renaissance Texts 27
  7. 2. Forms of Translation 46
  8. 3. New Ways of Worldmaking: English Renaissance Literature as ‘Early Modern’ 66
  9. 4. Theatre and Drama 89
  10. 5. Life-Writing: Encountering Selves 108
  11. 6. England and its Others 136
  12. 7. Literature and Religion in Early Modern England 155
  13. 8. Renaissance Englishwomen as Writers, Readers, and Patrons 182
  14. 9. Rhetoric and Literary Theory 203
  15. Part II: Close Readings
  16. 10. John Skelton, The Bowge of Courte (1499?) 225
  17. 11. Thomas More, Utopia (1516/1551) 244
  18. 12. William Baldwin, Beware the Cat (1553/1570) 265
  19. 13. Richard Tottel, Songes and Sonettes (1557) 280
  20. 14. John Lyly, Euphues (1578/1580) 295
  21. 15. Philip Sidney, The Two Arcadias (1577–1584) 311
  22. 16. Thomas Kyd, The Spanish Tragedy (c. 1587) 331
  23. 17. Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene (1590/1596) 352
  24. 18. Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus (c. 1588–1592) 376
  25. 19. Thomas Nashe, The Unfortunate Traveller (1594) 395
  26. 20. William Shakespeare, Richard II (1595) 411
  27. 21. Francis Bacon, Essays (1597–1625) 425
  28. 22. Shakespeare’s Sonnets (1609) 444
  29. 23. Ben Jonson, The Alchemist (1610) 464
  30. 24. Aemilia Lanyer, “The Description of Cooke-ham” (1611) 478
  31. 25. Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy (1621–1651) 496
  32. 26. John Ford, ’Tis Pity She’s a Whore (c. 1632) 516
  33. 27. John Donne, Songs and Sonnets (1633) 537
  34. 28. Thomas Carew and Inigo Jones, Coelum Britannicum (1634) 557
  35. 29. Andrew Marvell, Upon Appleton House (1651) 573
  36. 30. Margaret Cavendish, Poems, and Fancies (1653) 594
  37. 31. William Davenant, The Siege of Rhodes (1656) 615
  38. 32. John Milton, Paradise Lost (1667/1674) 635
  39. Index of Names 661
  40. Index of Subjects 683
  41. List of Contributors 739
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110444889-013

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Editors’ Preface V
  3. Contents VII
  4. Introduction 1
  5. Part I: Systematic Questions
  6. 1. Editing English Renaissance Texts 27
  7. 2. Forms of Translation 46
  8. 3. New Ways of Worldmaking: English Renaissance Literature as ‘Early Modern’ 66
  9. 4. Theatre and Drama 89
  10. 5. Life-Writing: Encountering Selves 108
  11. 6. England and its Others 136
  12. 7. Literature and Religion in Early Modern England 155
  13. 8. Renaissance Englishwomen as Writers, Readers, and Patrons 182
  14. 9. Rhetoric and Literary Theory 203
  15. Part II: Close Readings
  16. 10. John Skelton, The Bowge of Courte (1499?) 225
  17. 11. Thomas More, Utopia (1516/1551) 244
  18. 12. William Baldwin, Beware the Cat (1553/1570) 265
  19. 13. Richard Tottel, Songes and Sonettes (1557) 280
  20. 14. John Lyly, Euphues (1578/1580) 295
  21. 15. Philip Sidney, The Two Arcadias (1577–1584) 311
  22. 16. Thomas Kyd, The Spanish Tragedy (c. 1587) 331
  23. 17. Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene (1590/1596) 352
  24. 18. Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus (c. 1588–1592) 376
  25. 19. Thomas Nashe, The Unfortunate Traveller (1594) 395
  26. 20. William Shakespeare, Richard II (1595) 411
  27. 21. Francis Bacon, Essays (1597–1625) 425
  28. 22. Shakespeare’s Sonnets (1609) 444
  29. 23. Ben Jonson, The Alchemist (1610) 464
  30. 24. Aemilia Lanyer, “The Description of Cooke-ham” (1611) 478
  31. 25. Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy (1621–1651) 496
  32. 26. John Ford, ’Tis Pity She’s a Whore (c. 1632) 516
  33. 27. John Donne, Songs and Sonnets (1633) 537
  34. 28. Thomas Carew and Inigo Jones, Coelum Britannicum (1634) 557
  35. 29. Andrew Marvell, Upon Appleton House (1651) 573
  36. 30. Margaret Cavendish, Poems, and Fancies (1653) 594
  37. 31. William Davenant, The Siege of Rhodes (1656) 615
  38. 32. John Milton, Paradise Lost (1667/1674) 635
  39. Index of Names 661
  40. Index of Subjects 683
  41. List of Contributors 739
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