| As he gazes at an ornate, golden casket, which may contain the portrait of his beloved Portia, Shakepeare's Bassanio observes that "outward shows [may] be least themselves---The world is still deceived with ornament" (Merchant of Venice III.ii.73-4). The theme of ornament's potential to deceive and seduce runs deep in renaissance literature, appearing most notably in Spenser's Archimago, Milton's Satan, and Shakespeare's Claudius (who "may smile, and smile, and be a villain" (Hamlet I.v.108). Bassanio---unlike the multitude of foolish suitors---chooses the plain, lead casket; Portia is found at last. But Bassanio's logic tells only part of the story of renaissance ornament. Shakespeare's Malcom, who must decide whether or not to trust the seemingly (and indeed) virtuous Macduff, allows himself to be persuaded by "outward shows." In what could be an answer to Bassanio, he acknowledges ornament's destructive potential while hinting at its greater province: "Though all things foul would wear the brows of grace,/Yet grace must still look so" (Macbeth IV.iii.23-4). This project articulates a renaissance theory of ornament that accounts for these prominent---yet seemingly contradictory---views. Drawing on poetry, treatises on poetry, and debates about liturgical reform, I argue that ornament should be read according to its motive---those aspects that influence its causation and help it to influence audiences---not its manifestation. |
