September 29, 2017

ENGLISH LITERATURE UPTO 1590 – ELIZABETHAN SONNETEERS


ENGLISH LITERATURE UPTO 1590 – ELIZABETHAN SONNETEERS


Elizabethan Sonneteers (1580-1599): The Golden Age of the English Sonnet

The late 16th century witnessed an extraordinary flourishing of sonnet writing in England, as poets adapted the Italian Petrarchan form to create a distinctly English tradition of love poetry. By 1590, the sonnet had become the dominant lyrical form, blending courtly refinement with psychological depth.

1. Origins and Influences

Petrarchan Model: Inspired by Francesco Petrarca’s 14th-century sonnets to Laura.

Wyatt and Surrey: Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503-1542) introduced the form to England, while Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey (1517-1547) developed the English (Shakespearean) sonnet (ABABCDCDEFEFGG).

French Influence: Du Bellay and Ronsard’s Pléiade group further refined the tradition.

2. Major Sonneteers and Sequences

a) Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586)

Astrophil and Stella (1591): The first great English sonnet cycle, mixing Petrarchan idealism with self-mockery.

Innovations: Dramatic immediacy (“Loving in truth, and fain in verse my love to show”) and metrical experimentation.

b) Edmund Spenser (1552-1599)

Amoretti (1595): Chronicles his courtship of Elizabeth Boyle, culminating in the marriage ode Epithalamion.

Style: Uses interlocking Spenserian sonnets (ABABBCBCCDCDEE) for musical continuity.

c) Samuel Daniel (1562-1619)

Delia (1592): Elegant, melancholic verses influencing Shakespeare’s Dark Lady sonnets.

d) Michael Drayton (1563-1631)

Idea’s Mirror (1594): Revises his sequence repeatedly, culminating in the famous “Since there’s no help, come let us kiss and part.”

3. Themes and Conventions

Petrarchan Paradoxes: Ice and fire, war and peace, freedom and captivity.

Unrequited Love: The cruel beloved (e.g., Sidney’s Stella, Spenser’s later joyful resolution).

Time and Immortality: Poetry as defense against mortality (later central to Shakespeare).

4. The Shakespearean Turn (Post-1590)

While Shakespeare’s Sonnets (1609) lie just beyond this period, the groundwork was laid by:

Psychological Complexity: Sidney’s conflicted Astrophil.

Formal Mastery: Spenser’s melodic patterns.

Themes of Art vs. Time: Daniel’s meditations on transience.

5. Legacy

These sonneteers transformed the lyric into a vehicle for both personal expression and Renaissance wit, paving the way for Donne’s metaphysical poetry and the Romantic revival of the form.