The first great age of the English language was during the reign of Queen
Elizabeth I (1558-1603) in England. Named after the monarch, the
Elizabethan age, produced some of the biggest marvels of English Literature
in history.
The influence of Italy, France, and Spain on English literature continued in
this age. Drama, novels, and poetry all enjoyed a golden age of literature
along with fine arts, science and philosophy.
However, Poetry, together Drama, emerged as the most popular
form. William Shakespeare, Edmund Spencer, Philip Sydney, Walter Raleigh,
Christopher Marlowe, etc are some of the poetic luminaries of the age.
Characteristics
Forms
The sonnet form, which became the dominant form of poetry and was
the preferred style of Shakespeare himself (168 sonnets). Lyric,
descriptive and narrative poetry also came into popular usage.
Shakespeare created a new kind of sonnet, the Shakespearean
sonnet (English sonnet). This was different than the more widespread form,
the Petrarchan sonnet (brought from Italy by Thomas Wyatt, etc.).
Themes
The socio-political life of the time was revitalized by the exploits
of Renaissance and poetry also reflected that. The classical texts were
heavily relied on for inspiration and themes.
Ideas of patriotism, nationalism, freedom, free speech,
humanism, dominated the literary space. In stark contrast to Chaucer’s
age, this age was embellished with the notions of grand romances,
exorbitant metaphors, experimentation, and innovation.
The aggrandizement of love was the most visible notion that captivated the
poets of the age like Ben Jonson’s To Cecilia etc. The age also witnessed an
amalgamation of classical myth like Greek etc and English tales of elves and
fairies.
This gave a boost to popular fictional elements as well. Other topics
exploited by poets were political life, war, and conflict, the nature of life, the
duality of man, etc.
Style
Blank verse was the meter of choice for adding more drama to the text. It
freed the poets from the clutches of making everything rhyme.
It was used profusely in drama as well by the likes of Shakespeare and
Christopher Marlowe and survived far beyond the Elizabethan era with the
works like John Milton’s “Paradise Lost” and William Wordsworth’s
“Prelude.”
The language was rich with grand narratives and heroic tales. The writing
was evocative, palliative and flowery. Clever wordplay, alliteration,
and metaphors were commonly deployed.
The age is renowned for its bewitching lyrics like Sir Philip Sidney’s Astrophel
and Stella or Shakespeare’s poems like Venus and Adonis. Double Entendres
was the most adored device of the Elizabethan poets.
It comprises words or phrases with dual meanings, a benign explicit meaning
and an implicit secondary one which was more sensual. The use of grandiose
affectations like ‘conceit’ was also popular to add more intrigue and
suspense to the narrative.
There was also a conscious appropriation of the past wi
What is Elizabethan Poetry
Elizabethan poetry is poetry written during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I
(1558-1603). Many people think it was the golden age of English literature.
Elizabethan poetry is known for its complex forms, rich imagery, and wide
range of topics, from love and beauty to politics and nature.
Some of the most famous Elizabethan poets include William Shakespeare, Sir
Philip Sidney, and Edmund Spenser. These poets were influenced by classical
literature and the Renaissance spirit. They combined classical themes with
English traditions.
Elizabethan Poetry Examples
“The Passionate Shepherd to His Love”
This pastoral poem by Christopher Marlowe is one of the most acclaimed
works of the era. In it, the shepherd invites his beloved to live with him and
enjoy the beauties of the countryside. It celebrates the romantic ideals of
rural life, love, and simplicity.
“The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd”
Sir Walter Raleigh wrote the poem as a response to Marlowe’s poem,
Raleigh’s piece offers a more realistic and skeptical view. The nymph in the
poem questions the shepherd’s promises, highlighting the transient nature of
youth and beauty and suggesting that love based on such fleeting things
may not last.
“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”
“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date.”
In this sonnet, the speaker poses the question of whether his beloved is
better compared to a summer’s day. He concludes that his love is more
perfect and enduring than the fleeting beauty of an English summer. He
notes how the winds can disturb the loveliness of spring, just as all seasons
change too quickly. In the end, the speaker declares his love will be
immortalized through this poetic praise.
Characteristics of the Elizabethan Poetry
Sonnets
The sonnet was a major poetic form during the Elizabethan era. The sonnet
form, which was originated in Italy and notably practiced by Petrarch, made
its way into English poetry.
A sonnet is a 14-line poem that follows a specific rhyme scheme and
addresses a single thought or emotion. The traditional Italian sonnet has 14
lines of poem which has two parts; octave and a sestet. It is often revolved
around themes of courtly love, which became a common thread in English
sonnets.
The English or Shakespearean sonnet form consists of three quatrains
followed by a couplet with a rhyme scheme of abab cdcd efef gg.
Philip Sidney’s Sonnet 31 from Astrophil and Stella which explores conflicted
feelings of desire and inner turmoil.Astrophel and Stella” by Sir Philip Sidney
is a series detailing the poet’s love for Stella. It navigates through the highs
and lows of love, passion, and societal expectations.
Why Sonnets?
I think, the sonnet form was possibly popular during the Elizabethan era due
to its structured format, which might have provided a framework for
expressing profound thoughts concisely, particularly emotional and
philosophical themes like love and time, resonating deeply during the
Renaissance.
Religious Lyrics
Beyond sonnets, Elizabethan poets experimented with a range of forms
including religious poetry, narrative poetry, epic poetry, metaphysical poetry
and more.
The religious undertones in the works of Donne and Drummond reflect the
era’s spiritual fervor. Donne combined intellectualism with lyricism,
introducing unconventional imagery to express conventional Christian
sentiments.
John Donne and Drummond brought a distinct freshness to the sonnet form.
Donne introduced an unparalleled blend of the sublime and the ordinary in
his “Holy Sonnets,” intertwining religious zeal and mysticism in a manner
quite divergent for his time, while avoiding standard Petrarchan paths.
Drummond, also sidestepping typical Petrarchan conventions, combined
religious themes with the traditionally secular sonnet form.
Both poets, through their inventive thematic and stylistic choices, solidified
the place of religious sonnets within the wider English sonnet tradition,
bringing a new thematic depth and diversity to the form.
Narrative Poetry
Elizabethan poets also delved into narrative forms, telling stories through
their poems.
“The Mirror for Magistrates” is a collection of verse-narratives by different
poets. Poets included Thomas Sackville, Baldwin, Churchyard and others. The
poems tell the stories of famous people from English history who met with
tragic ends. The poems are meant to teach people to avoid bad behavior,
and they show how even powerful people can be punished for their sins.
Starting as a continuation of Lydgate’s Falls of Princes, it was inspired by
Boccaccio. Beginning with seven tales, later editions expanded, covering
famous English figures’ lives.
A Mirror for Magistrates embodied the Renaissance spirit. It emphasized
history’s role in teaching humanity. The poems offered lessons for rulers,
showcasing good and bad behaviors from history. It preceded chronicle
poetry and inspired Elizabethan plays, making it influential.
Shakespeare’s narrative poems “Venus and Adonis” and “The Rape of
Lucree” both provide a glimpse into his robust poetic capabilities, with the
latter delving into the tragic tale of Lucree’s violation by Tarquin and its
eventual societal repercussions, despite certain critiques regarding its
digressions and elaborations.
Elizabethan Lyrical Poetry
Lyrical poetry is a genre that, unlike narrative poetry, expresses personal
and emotional feelings. In the Elizabethan period, these poems often had
musical qualities and were sometimes set to music, hence the term “lyric.”
Elizabethan lyrical poems were brief and meant to be sung or spoken in a
musical tone. Their rhythm and meter often imitated or matched the natural
cadences of music.
Here are a few more examples that encapsulate the essence of that
description:
“Spring” by Thomas Nash – This poem beautifully captures the sights and
sounds of springtime through lilting rhythm and phrases: “Spring, the sweet
spring, is the year’s pleasant king / Then blooms each thing, then maids
dance in a ring / Cold doth not sting, the pretty birds do sing”.
“When I Was Fair and Young” by Queen Elizabeth I**: The monarch herself
penned this poem, reflecting on her youth and the power she wielded over
admirers. Its rhythmic structure and repetition make it reminiscent of songs
or ballads.
“It Was a Lover and His Lass” by William Shakespeare**: From his play “As
You Like It,” this song celebrates the joys and playfulness of young love
during springtime. Its lively rhythm and repeated refrains underscore its
song-like quality.
“Song: To Celia” by Ben Jonson – Using rhyme, repetition, and impulse
iambic tetrameter, this poem is structured like a song meant to woo the
subject Celia. For example: “Drink to me only with thine eyes, And I will
pledge with mine.”
These poems, among others from the Elizabethan era, are celebrated not
only for their poetic brilliance but also for their inherent musicality. Their
rhythmic patterns and melodious qualities made them suitable for
performances, both spoken and sung.
Imagery and Figurative Language
Imagery involves using descriptive language to create vivid mental pictures
in the reader’s mind, helping to intensify the poetic experience.
Figurative language, on the other hand, involves using words or expressions
in a way that deviates from their conventional meanings to convey complex
ideas, often using similes, metaphors, and personification.
Elizabethan poets made frequent use of vivid sensory imagery and figures of
speech like metaphors and similes. Imagery creates visually resonant
scenes, like in Spenser’s Faerie Queene:
Here are some examples from The Faerie Queene:
“Her angel’s face as the great eye of heaven shined bright,
And made a sunshine in the shady place.” (Book 1, Canto 3)
This uses a simile, comparing the brightness of her face to the sun in the sky.
It creates a vivid image of her beauty lighting up the shady forest.
“Upon her eyelids many Graces sate,
Under the shadow of her even brows.” (Book 2, Canto 3)
This conveys a vivid image of Graces perched on her eyelids and brows,
using concrete sensory details like shadows and eyebrows.
Another example, Shakespeare’s Sonnet 73:
“That time of year thou mayst in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruin’d choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.”
This vividly evokes the imagery of autumn and barren trees while also
employing metaphorical language, comparing the boughs to “ruin’d choirs”,
symbolizing the inevitable decay of age.
The use of poetic techniques like alliteration, assonance, and onomatopoeia
creates rhythm, cadence, and songlike phrasing.
Themes of the Elizabethan Poetry
Theme of Love
The fascination with themes of love, particularly unrequited or courtly love, is
evident across the sonnets of this period.
The English sonneteers adapted the Petrarchan sonnet, reflect on courtly
love themes similar to Petrarch’s admiration for Laura.
According to me, the exploration of love through sonnets in the Elizabethan
era, like those between Astrophel and Stella or Spenser and Elizabeth Boyle,
offered poets a respectable medium to express personal yet universally
relatable experiences.
It adhered to both the societal norms and the personal, intimate inclinations
of the poets, providing a safe and structured platform to delve into such
themes without the potential chaos of unbridled expression.
Some Elizabethan love poetry are: Spenser’s “Sweet Warrior”, “Like As a
Huntsman”, “One Day I Wrote Her Name’ etc.
Feminism
Feminist interpretations might explore the representation and often
objectification of women in these poems, which could mirror broader societal
perspectives of the era. For instance, the unresponsive, idealized woman in
Petrarchan sonnets might be critiqued for portraying women as mere objects
of desire rather than entities with agency and emotion.
Nature and pastoral life
Many Elizabethan lyrics explore the beauty and simplicity of the natural
world and country living.
For example, Edmund Spenser’s “The Shepheardes Calendar” (1579) deals
with the lives of shepherds. The Shepheardes Calendar is a pastoral poem,
like the poems of Virgil and Theocritus, but it is also quintessentially
Elizabethan. It is combination of classical and contemporary styles.
The poem has twelve eclogues, one for each month. The twelve eclogues are
poems that tell stories about shepherds. Each eclogue is set in a different
month, and describes the characteristics of the month and the activities of
the shepherds during that time of year.
The eclogues are pastoral dialogues, but they also have allegorical meaning,
which means that it has a hidden meaning. The poem can be read as a
commentary on English politics and society during the Elizabethan era.
Spenser’s “Shepheardes Calendar can be studied from the lens of Cultural
Studies. It revolves around shepherds and their dialogues which can be
investigated to understand the cultural practices, values, and norms of the
Elizabethan pastoral life.
Mortality and Transience of Life
The inevitability of death and the fleeting nature of life were common
themes. Poets mused on the transient nature of beauty, youth, and worldly
pleasures, often using them to underscore the value of seizing the day.
This sonnet “When I do count the clock that tells the time” (Sonnet 12) by
William Shakespeare delves deep into the inevitable progression of time, the
aging process, and the subsequent decline of youth and vitality. The poem
poignantly states how day turns to night, summer gives way to winter, and
youth ages, all leading to the inexorable march towards death.
Mysticism and Spirituality
With the religious upheavals of the time, many poets also delved into themes
of spirituality, faith, and the human soul’s relationship with the divine. They
often expressed personal spiritual journeys, doubts, and musings.
Sir John Davies’ “Of the Soul” series is a profound exploration of the nature
of the human soul, its divine origins, and its entrapment within the physical
body.
Elizabethan Poets and their Works
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare, while renowned in English theatre, also claimed
unparalleled recognition in the sonnet form, introducing loftiness, profundity,
and a remarkable melodic quality to his 154 sonnets.
Departing from typical Elizabethan sonnets, his were not solely romantic or
adoring in nature but also explored masculine friendship and were strikingly
realistic, especially the 26 “Dark Lady Sonnets” which opposed Petrarchan
idealization.
Shakespeare used a format of three quatrains and a couplet, innovated by
Henry Howard, with a distinct seven-rime scheme as opposed to the
Petrarchan five.
The sonnets explore Shakespeare’s thoughts on friendship, love, and
experiences. They are divided into two sections – one addresses a young
man, likely the Earl of Southampton, admiring male friendship. The other
addresses an unnamed woman, showing Shakespeare’s conflicted feelings.
A Perspective
Viewing Shakespeare’s Dark Lady Sonnets through a lens of feminist literary
theory could offer interesting insights. The poet deviates from the
conventional portrayal of women as fair, gentle, and virtuous, instead
presenting a dark, cruel, and deceitful lady.
This subversion could be seen as a critique or mockery of the Petrarchan
ideal, challenging contemporary notions of femininity and romantic love.
Alternatively, the portrayal might be examined for potentially reinforcing
negative stereotypes about women, providing a dichotomy that warrants a
critical feminist reading.
