Poets and power from Chaucer to Wyatt / Robert J. Meyer-Lee.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Meyer-Lee, Robert John.

Series:

Cambridge studies in medieval literature ; 61.

Cambridge studies in medieval literature ; 61

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

English poetry--Middle English, 1100-1500--History and criticism.

English poetry.

English poetry--Early modern, 1500-1700--History and criticism.

Politics and literature--England--History--To 1500.

Politics and literature.

Politics and literature--England--History--16th century.

History.

England.

Physical Description:

xii, 297 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, UK ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2007.

Summary:

In the early fifteenth century, English poets responded to a changed climate of patronage, instituted by Henry IV and successor monarchs, by inventing a new tradition of public and elite poetry. Following Chaucer and others, Hoccleve and Lydgate brought to English verse a new style and subject matter to write about their king, nation, and themselves, and their innovations influenced a continuous line of poets running through and beyond Wyatt. A crucial aspect of this new tradition is its development of ideas and practices associated with the role of poet laureate. Robert J. Meyer-Lee examines the nature and significance of this tradition as it develops from the fourteenth century to Tudor times, tracing its evolution from one author to the next. This study illuminates the relationships between poets and political power and makes plain the tremendous impact this verse has had on the shape of English literary culture.

Contents:

Introduction: Laureates and beggars 1

1 Laureate Poetics 15

Part II The First Lancastrian Poets 43

2 John Lydgate: The Invention of the English Laureate 49

3 Thomas Hoccleve: Beggar Laureate 88

Part III From Lancaster to Early Tudor 125

4 Lydgateanism 131

5 The Trace of Lydgate: Stephen Hawes, Alexander Barclay, and John Skelton 174

Epilogue: Sir Thomas Wyatt: Anti-laureate 220.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 278-292) and index.

ISBN:

0521863554

9780521863551

OCLC:

71347558