Thomas Nashe, Choice of Valentines

Claire Bryony Loffman (Canterbury Christ Church University)
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Passed over in the Penguin Classics’s introduction to his works as Nashe’s “dirty” poem (Nashe 1985 30), the

Choice of Valentines

, often referred to as “Nashe’s Dildo” is of considerable interest to any student of the history of sexuality and erotic writing in English. It contains the first known use of the word “dildo” to mean “an artificial penis” (

OED

misdates the

Choice

to 1601, but the poem was in circulation before John Florio’s 1598

World of Wordes

) and provides the first detailed description in English of a dildo. Here it is a long, broad, hollow glass cylinder “almost tuo handfulls highe” covered with white silk or velvet and filled with warm milk or water with a hole at the tip to simulate the sensation of ejaculation (Nashe 1905 413). In a wry…

1791 words

Citation: Loffman, Claire Bryony. "Choice of Valentines". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 29 September 2014 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=35517, accessed 19 March 2024.]

35517 Choice of Valentines 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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