Queer Cultures

PROMPT FOR THE FIRST QC BLOGGING ASSIGNMENT

A towering figure in modern Queer History, Oscar Wilde made an impassioned if guarded defense of Queer love when Charles Gill, the prosecutor in the case against him, asked him to define "What is the love that dare not speak its name?":

• 'The Love that dare not speak its name' in this century is such a great affection of an elder for a younger man as there was between David and Jonathan, such as Plato made the very basis of his philosophy, and such as you find in the sonnets of Michelangelo and Shakespeare. It is that deep, spiritual affection that is as pure as it is perfect. It dictates and pervades great works of art like those of Shakespeare and Michelangelo, and those two letters of mine, such as they are. It is in this century misunderstood, so much misunderstood that it may be described as the "Love that dare not speak its name," and on account of it I am placed where I am now. It is beautiful, it is fine, it is the noblest form of affection. There is nothing unnatural about it. It is intellectual, and it repeatedly exists between an elder and a younger man, when the elder man has intellect, and the younger man has all the joy, hope and glamour of life before him. That it should be so the world does not understand. The world mocks at it and sometimes puts one in the pillory for it.

After our discussion today of chapters 1 and 2, comment and critique Wilde's explanation and defense of his love. What rhetorical strategies is he using to buttress his delicate position as he faces a court of law? In what way to you surmise that his kind of love is "so much misunderstood" in his century? How can we link this text to the so-called birth of the modern homosexual?

1) Comment briefly and critically.There is no minimum length, but do not feel compelled to write more than a couple paragraphs. INITIATE YOUR OWN BLOG POST.  Do not comment or reply to this post.

2) The questions following Wilde's quote aim to guide your reaction to it in the context of our readings.

3) However, it may very well be the case that in blogging about this quote you choose to frame your response to the text along different questions or concerns.

4) Feel free to deviate... Pun duly intended!