Early Modern English Poetry: A Critical Companion - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0195153871 ISBN 13: 9780195153873

Publisher: Oxford University Press, U.S.A., 2006

Synopsis

Early Modern English Poetry: A Critical Companion presents twenty-eight original essays on the major poems of the English Renaissance. Each essay is written by a leading scholar and examines a poem in the context of an important topic in early modern culture. The selections provide groundbreaking scholarship on subjects ranging from the invention of English verse, Petrarchism, pastoral, elegy, and satire to women's religious verse, the politics of town, the place of homoeroticism, and Cavalier poetry. An ideal supplement to both primary texts and anthologies of Renaissance literature, Early Modern English Poetry offers fresh approaches to poems by Sir Philip Sidney, Edmund Spenser, Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare, Aemilia Lanyer, John Donne, John Milton, and many others. The first three chapters set the rest of the volume in context with coverage of the sixteenth-century invention of verse, print and manuscript culture in early modern England, and Renaissance treatises on the art of poetry. The remaining chapters are structured around authors and their works-which are each related to a specific issue in early modern culture-and organized chronologically according to the dates of composition or publication of the poems discussed. This innovative and flexible design corresponds perfectly with courses in which students first read a primary text and then expand their understanding of the work with detailed critical commentary. The book is enhanced by a general introduction, recommended reading lists at the end of each chapter, and a chronology of Renaissance poetry tailored to the book's contents. Early Modern English Poetry provides an accessible introduction both to a key selection of canonical poetic works in English and to historical and cultural topics that illuminate them.

About this title

Review

An exceptionally useful collection of introductory essays ... most of the contributors accomplish their brief with a seemingly effortless clarity and elegance...In a period when students are often nervous of reading poetry and particularly frightened by early modern texts, this volume may make a significant contribution to introducing a new generation to the extraordinary poetic riches of the period. (Elizabeth Heale, Modern Language Review)

offers important cultural background and a widening of the usual scope of reference whilst delivering, in many cases, fresh analyses of poets familiar to the Early modern canon. (Elizabeth Clarke, The Review of English Studies)

Synopsis

Early Modern English Poetry features twenty-eight original essays written especially for this volume by important international scholars on the major poems of the English Renaissance. The typical essay in this volume was written with two goals in mind: to provide readers with a distinctive and illuminating analysis of a key early modern work; and to introduce students to an important topic of early modern culture. The volume also offers groundbreaking scholarship on subjects ranging from the intervention of English verse, Petrarchism, pastoral, elegy, and satire, to women's religious verse, the politics of town, the place of homoeroticism, and Cavalier poetry. Early Modern English Poetry serves as an accessible introduction both to a key range of canonical poetic works in English and to historical and cultural topics that help illuminate those works.

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press, U.S.A.
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0195153871
• ISBN 13: 9780195153873
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 368
• Editor: Cheney Patrick