By Christian Fernandez
Matthew Carter, a Mary Baldwin University Master of Letters alum, was among the presenters at the 2017 Blackfriars Conference, last October 25 – 29. Carter recently completed his Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro where he also serves as a lecturer. The 2017 conference was his first time attending as a presenter, after helping with and attending the conference while at MBU.
Carter wrote his dissertation on the meaning of military terminology in early modern English plays. He gained an interest in the subject during his time at MBU. “I took Stage Combat during my first year, which is where I first gained an interest in the topic,” said Carter. “The professor, JP [Scheidler] made me aware of all the [combat] terminology. As I read through the plays, I realized how much is missed when one does not understand the terminology.”
One of Carter’s best examples formed the thesis of his conference paper: the implications of masculinity in Macbeth’s imagined dagger scene. Carter identified the dagger as a bollock’s dagger, which is formed in the shape of a phallus. From there, Carter explained how the wearer, especially a king, would wear the dagger over their groan. The implication is that kings are figures who “penetrate” their enemies and not the ones receiving the blows. Carter then implied a masculine-feminine strife in the monologue by noting that the dagger bleeds similar to the act of menstruation. The masculinity of the usurped king’s dominance is reversed to the submissive feminine by his blood that stains the dagger; the dagger broadcasts the penetration of the king.
Carter is continuing his research to further understand the masculine implications of other military terminology in Shakespeare’s plays. “There is a lot there that has a major impact in understanding the plays,” he said. “It is easy to miss, but fascinating to discover. Knowledge of the armor and weaponry terminology is for more than just referential knowledge. As I show with my essay on Macbeth, this knowledge uncovers a whole other depth to the plays.”
