Passed over in the Penguin Classics’s introduction to his works as Nashe’s “dirty” poem (Nashe 1985 30), the

, 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” (

misdates the

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

) 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 21 November 2024.]