An ENGLISHMAN Italianate is a devil incarnate

Insights

Cultural Corruption

The proverb serves as a metaphor for the dangers of cultural assimilation, suggesting that abandoning one's native culture for a foreign one leads to moral and spiritual corruption. The 'Italianate' Englishman is a symbol of inauthenticity and lost identity.

Deceptive Appearances

It implies that the sophisticated and polished exterior of Italian culture is merely a facade for underlying vice and deceit. An Englishman adopting these manners is therefore seen as becoming duplicitous, masking a wicked nature with a veneer of charm and refinement.

Peril of Foreign Influence

The proverb functions as a nationalist and xenophobic warning against foreign influence. It argues that interaction with other cultures, particularly a rival power like Italy, inevitably contaminates and degrades the national character.

Historical and Cultural Anxiety

This proverb reflects deep-seated English anxieties during the Renaissance. While Italy was the revered center of art and culture, Protestant England also stereotyped it as a place of Machiavellian intrigue, Catholic conspiracy, and moral decay. The saying served as a xenophobic warning to young Englishmen undertaking the Grand Tour, cautioning that adopting Italian sophistication would lead to the loss of their native English virtues and moral identity.

Religious and Political Antagonism

The phrase 'devil incarnate' carries strong religious undertones, linking the adoption of Italian (and by extension, Catholic) customs with diabolical evil. It reflects the intense politico-religious conflicts of the 16th and 17th centuries between Protestant England and Catholic Europe, framing cultural assimilation as a form of spiritual corruption.

Psychology of Xenophobia

The proverb is a powerful expression of cultural essentialism—the belief that a nation's character is innate and immutable. It psychologically frames the 'Italianate' Englishman as an unnatural hybrid, a monstrous figure who has betrayed his authentic self, thus becoming deceptive and dangerous. This reveals a profound fear of foreign influence corrupting a supposedly pure national identity.

Literary Resonance

The stereotype of the cunning, treacherous Italian is a recurring motif in English literature of the period, particularly in Jacobean revenge tragedies which are often set in Italy. The proverb encapsulates the plot of many such plays, where English travelers encounter and are corrupted by a world of sophisticated evil.

Rhetorical Devices

Rhyme

The perfect rhyme between 'Italianate' and 'incarnate' creates a memorable and damning finality, making the proverb catchy and emphatic.

Hyperbole

The phrase 'devil incarnate' is a dramatic overstatement that equates cultural affectation with absolute evil. This exaggeration heightens the proverb's cautionary impact.

Rhythm and Cadence

The rhythmic cadence of the line, combined with the rhyming couplet, gives it a powerful, almost incantatory quality, making it sound like an irrefutable piece of wisdom.

Sound Repetition

The assonance and consonance in 'Englishman', 'Italianate', and 'incarnate' create a sonic link that reinforces the perceived inevitable connection between the three concepts.