The English Lyric Tradition: Reading Poetic Masterpieces of the Middle Ages and Renaissance

by R. James Goldstein

Overview

 Modern readers can sometimes be unsure about the language and the literary conventions of medieval and Renaissance verse—lyrical works written at a time before poetry was assumed to be about personal expression. This readers’ guide introduces to a 21st century audience some of the greatest masterpieces of English poetry spanning five centuries. Focusing on poems by Chaucer, Wyatt, Shakespeare, Milton and others, the author discusses the development of poetic technique, explains the rhetorical culture of earlier centuries and describes the various lyric forms—including lover’s complaints, sonnets and elegies—that poets used to communicate with readers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476627564
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	03/23/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	236
File size:	4 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

R. James Goldstein teaches medieval literature and literary theory at Auburn University. He has published a book on the invention of Scottish nationalism as well as numerous essays on medieval poetry.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix
Introduction—Canonical Forms 1
1. Vernacular Eloquence: Reading Older Poetry Rhetorically 11
2. What Was a Lyric Poem? 41
3. Anonymous Middle English Lyrics on the Virgin Mary 59
4. The Love Complaint Ballade: Chaucer and Wyatt 72
5. The Love Sonnet from Wyatt to Shakespeare 90
6. The Country House Poem: Lanyer and Jonson 132
7. The Pastoral Elegy: Milton’s “Lycidas” 152
Coda—The Irish Dancer 183
Appendix—A Modified Version of Attridge’s Scansion Symbols 185
Chapter Notes 187
Bibliography 207
Index 217