Sharon Yang (English) presented at the 2013 Plymouth State University Medieval and Renaissance Conference on April 20 in the session “Milton and Gender.”
Her paper, “The Female Pastoral Guide ‘Sallies Out and Sees Her Adversary’: Lady as Guide in Training in Milton’s A Mask Presented at Ludlow Castle, Comus,” drew from material originally slated for her book Goddesses, Mages, and Wise Women to explore how Milton gives a twist to the female pastoral guide tradition. Rather than teaching other characters based on her experience and knowledge, Milton’s Lady is a guide in training whose developing virtue and understanding by being tested through experience serves to guide the masque’s audience.