Penguin Book of Renaissance Verse, 1509-1659 (Penguin Classics)
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Overview
The years from the accession of Henry VIII to the crisis of the English republic in 1659 were one of the most fertile epochs in world literature, and this anthology offers a generous selection of its poetry.
Arranged thematically, it is the first anthology fully to bring out the relationship between the period's poetry and politics, and to explore the growth of innovative humanist ideas and forms. It devotes generous space to women poets, is equally distinctive in its emphasis on popular literature and draws renewed attention to international influences on early modern British culture. With presentation kept as true as possible to the Renaissance originals, the texts have been freshly edited; while David Norbrook's Preface and Introduction illuminate some of the most controversial issues surrounding the Renaissance. A valuable range of appendices helps to make this a landmark text for the poetry and poetics of the period.
Synopsis
The era between the accession of Henry VIII and the crisis of the English republic in 1659 formed one of the most fertile epochs in world literature. This anthology offers a broad selection of its poetry, and includes a wide range of works by the great poets of the age—notably Sir Philip Sidney, Edmund Sepnser, John Donne, William Shakespeare and John Milton. Poems by less well-known writers also feature prominently—among them significant female poets such as Lady Mary Wroth and Katherine Philips. Compelling and exhilarating, this landmark collection illuminates a time of astonishing innovation, imagination and diversity.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.