STORY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE PART FOUR:POST-CHAUCER TO EDMUND SPENCER
Dear Readers, I present Part Four of my ‘True Story of English in Verse’, which is being composed for publication this year, after I complete the section on Shakespeare ! This portion is self-contained in a simplified form for easy reading . I have used only 60% of my notes here, mentioning only the salient features! Though reading of the previous parts would provide better appreciation in totality; I have clarified many issues in the ‘Foot Notes’, which will help my readers in reality! I also feel glad to inform my Readers that if you type the Title of my verse on Google , you will find it is reflected on top of their permanent reference web page for posterity ! Thanking you, - Raj Nandy.
TRUE STORY OF ENGLISH PART FOUR:
POST CHAUCER TO EDMUND SPENCER
*SECTION – ONE**
**BY RAJ NANDY**
INTRODUCTION
Having covered the Story of English Language and Literature
till Chaucer in Part-Three,
I will be taking you to the 16th century, – the Early Middle
English Period shortly !
It was an era of great dramatic prose and lyrical poetry;
Also known as the Elizabethan Era to students of History !
But let us not forget the 15th Century between Chaucer and Spencer,
Which was not a distinguished period for English Literature ;
Since the prolonged ‘War of the Roses’ between the House
of Lancaster and York,
Was not congenial for English Literature’s growth !
And the social dislocation of the 15th century, could only
produce many imitators of Chaucer’s poetry !
However, both Linguists and Historians do agree, that for
the growth of English Language as we shall see ;
One cannot deny the importance of the 15th Century !
Not forgetting the contribution to the language by Geoffrey
Chaucer,
Which later blossomed into an exotic flower in the works
of Shakespeare !
To cover these two centuries of English language and its
vibrant literature,
I have divided my work into two sections, to narrate its
salient features ;
Reserving section two for the great dramatist William
Shakespeare ;
While in this section I shall conclude with the influence of
Early Renaissance on English Literature !
LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE :15th CENTURY
ENGLAND :
Brief Background :
The 15th Century was a period of transition as it now appears,
Between the Middle English of Chaucer and the Early Modern English of Shakespeare !
The ‘Hundred Year’s War’ had promoted national pride,
Giving a boost to the native language which made great
strides ! (See Notes)
The monastic monopoly over learning got undermined by the
printing press of Caxton ;
And the discovery of the New World by Columbus and the
‘new learning’ of the Renaissance ;
Greatly expanded the God-centered Medieval horizon !
The invention of the cannon not only shattered medieval
castles and its strongholds ,
But also dissolved the fabric of Medieval Society of England
-- we are told !
At the battlefield of Bosworth the hunched-back King Richard
the Third lay dead, (22Aug 1485)
For Henry Tudor had finally sealed his fate! (Henry VII)
Henry VII ended the ‘War of the Roses’ and established the
famous Tudor Dynasty, (See Notes)
And the Tudors provided England over a century of stability
and prosperity ;
Which enabled both language and literature to flourish simultaneously !
Growth of Language – Middle English Period :
Language being a constant evolving medium of human
expression,
Changes get gradually shaped by historical and socio-political
events of a nation !
Several Dialects may prevail and be in current usage ,
But the most influential one finally becomes a nation’s
heritage !
However, two major factors influencing Middle English
Language during the 15th century,
Were the Great Vowel Shift, and Caxton’s printing press
undoubtedly !
The Great Vowel Shift brought about some standardization
in pronunciation ,
By shedding the multiple word endings of Old English, -
known as ‘the leveling of inflections’ !
The difference between Chaucer and the modern language,
Was in the pronunciation of the ‘long vowels’, which saw
a gradual change ;
Studied in depth by the Danish linguist Otto Jespersen, who
gave the ‘Great Vowel Shift’ its name ! ( See Notes)
Chaucer’s ‘lyf’ pronounced ‘leef’ became ‘life’; Middle
English ‘nama’ became ‘name’, ‘feef’ as ‘five’, and ‘doon’
became ‘down’.
This shift being a gradual process, the vowel sounds are still
shortening Jespersen had said !
We can find ‘colour’ and ‘labour’ being spelled without the
‘u’ these days!
This period also coincides with the Early Renaissance,
When borrowings from Latin, French and Greek, - enlarged
the English vocabulary at its source;
Though the English ‘purists’ derisively called these foreign
words as ‘Inkhorn Terms’ in those early days !
The changes in pronunciations never matched the spelling
of words - which remained out of phase ;
Resulting in many of the peculiarities of the English language
- we now face ! (See Notes)
Caxton’s Printing Press. In 1476 from the distant Rhineland,
William Caxton of Kent, brought the first printing press into
England !
Caxton a translator, a linguist and a publisher, chose the East
Midland dialect for printing both classical and important
English Literature ,
Which includes Chaucer’s ‘Canterbury Tales’ and Malory’s
‘Le Morte d’Arthur’!
Caxton facilitated the expansion of English vocabulary and
the regularization of inflection and syntax;
Reducing the ever widening gap between spoken and written
English to some extent !
Evolution of the ‘Chancery Standard’ for English:
The West Saxon dialect which had gained prominence as
the ‘Winchester Standard’ blessed by King Alfred, (9th century)
Lost its importance after the Normans from France conquered England! (11th century)
The Normans shifted their capital to London from Winchester,
And built their royal residence constructing the Palace of
Westminster!
London developed as the political and commercial centre of
the country,
With its judicial courts and also the London Chancery !
Here within the Westminster area a vast amount of manuscripts
were copied by the Chancery scribes ,
Thus influencing the emergence of a Chancery Standard, which
cannot be denied !
Caxton had also set up his printing press in Westminster,
And chose this same local London dialect as the first English
Publisher !
English Literature after Chaucer:
Scholars have lamented the dearth of literary talent following
Chaucer,
With Lydgate, Hawes and Skelton producing imitative and
doggerel meters !
Chaucer’s final ‘e’ was dropped or became silent, and ‘y’ became ‘i’; with ‘route’ becoming ‘root’, and ‘nyne’ becoming ‘nine’!
With the rapid change in English pronunciation the new poets
of that age ,
Perhaps failed to modify the old meter to suit the new age !
However the best poetry of the 15th century was written north
of England ;
With James-I (1394-1437), Sir David Lyndsay, Gawin Douglas,
and William Dunbar, all writing from Scotland !
James –I returned to Scotland after 18 years of his English captivity ,
Chose the ‘Chaucerian Stanzas’ for composing his ‘Kingis
Quair’ and other poetry ;
Which came to be known as ‘Rhyme Royal’ blessed by his
royalty !
Some scholars regard Dunbar as the greatest British poet
between Chaucer and Spencer,
With his allegorical poems and satirical ballads forming a part
of Scottish literature !
The Scottish ballads had become increasingly popular after Chaucer’s death,
Those numerous ballads of the ‘Robin Hood Cycle’ and the
one on the ‘Nut Brown Maid’!
But among the greatest Prose production of the 15th century,
Is ‘Mort d’ Arthur’ of Sir Thomas Malory, which inspired
Matthew Arnold, Swinburne, and pre-eminently Tennyson
of later centuries !
INFLUENCE OF EARLY RENAISSANCE ON
ENGLISH LITERATURE :
The 15th century dawned upon England through the fog of
bleakness and strife ,
But with the coming of the Tudors the dawn broadened into
a sunrise !
Henry VII ended the dynastic wars between the House of
Lancaster and York,
When in 1485 he married Elizabeth of the House of York !
Henry VII consolidated his empire helping in the spread of
this ‘new found knowledge’ ;
And the contribution of Caxton’s printing press is also widely
acknowledged ! (The Early Renaissance period)
The grand revival of classical art and culture which began in
the 14th century, (Under Cosimo de’ Medici- a Florentine banker)
Spread across northern Europe into England from distant Italy!
In the field of Literature its initial impact was on Lyrical English
Poetry ;
In the Sonnets of Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard as we see;
Both being greatly influenced by Francesco Petrarch of Italy !
Wyatt introduced into England the Sonnet, and Howard the
Blank Verse,
Later used by the master craftsman Shakespeare, perfecting his
literary art!
THE SONNETS :
Originates from Italian ‘sonneto’ - a ‘little song’ of love,
sung with the lute in the courtyards of Italy;
First composed in the 13th century, in Sicily by Giacono da
Lentino,
Who wrote in the Sicilian dialect as far as we know !
Lentino’s friend the Italian Fra Guittone d’Arezzo, is also said
to have perfected the sonnet meters in the 13th century;
Which Petrarch and Dante later crowned with great beauty !
It was Petrarch the Roman Catholic priest who first popularized it in Italy,
With his 366 idealized sonnets in his ‘Song Book’, ‘Canzoniere’;
The central theme being his love for Laura’s idealized beauty!
Petrarch’s sonnets has a 8-line stanza the ‘octave’, and a 6-line
stanza the ‘sestet’,
Where the first stanza presents a theme, and the second stanza develops it, or answers the question raised in the octave !
Rhyme scheme of the ‘octave’ being abba, abba; and the ‘sestet’ with: cde, cde, (or cdc, cdc, or cde, dce) .
Now with the Sonnets we gradually enter the 16th Century !
Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503-1542):
Was entrusted by King Henry VIII with many diplomatic missions
in Italy and France ,
Where he came across the classical sonnets of Petrarch, during
those days of the Early Italian Renaissance!
But after his chief patron Thomas Cromwell was beheaded, he
was recalled from abroad and imprisoned !
Wyatt’s fatal attraction for Ann Boleyn, who later became King’s mistress and wife,
Had nearly deprived Wyatt his very life !
In 1557 his ninety-six love poems appeared posthumously, in a
compendium called ‘Tottel’s Miscellany’.
Most noteworthy are the thirty-one Sonnets being the first of its
kind in English poetry !
Here ten were translations from Petrarch, and others were
modified from the classical forms ,
Introducing the ‘couplet ending’, evolving his unique style with
reform !
The first four lines and the final couplet from Wyatt’s sonnet titled
“Whoso List to Hunt” is shown below as an example ;
Where he despairs the turn of events and laments, after Ann Boleyn marries the King, and as the hunter he gives up the chase !
“Whoso lists to hunt, I know where is a hind,
But as for me, helas, I may no more
The vain travail hath wearied me so sore,
I am of them that furthest cometh behind.”
The final couplet :-
“Noli me tangere, for Ceasar’s I am,
And wild for to hold, though I seem tame.”
Notes:-
(‘Whosoever Desires to Hunt’…the ‘hind’ is Ann Boyle. ‘Helas’= alas.
‘Noli me tangere’ = ‘do not touch me’ in Latin; what Jesus said to Mary Magdalene: John 20:17! Here ‘volta’, the turn, like some of Shakespeare’s
sonnets, stating a view point, - occurs in the final couplet!)
Poetical Miscellanies- are typical of that time and age, reveal the enthusiasm felt for the revival of poetry in the English language! Each volume contains a collection of short pieces of the time; Where best poems by Unknown Authors, - still survive !
In addition to ‘Tottel’s Miscellany’, ‘The Passionate Pilgrim’
of 1599, contains poems by Shakespeare, Raleigh and Marlow;
While the Miscellany titled ‘England’s Helicon’ of 1600, -
Surpasses all others in fullness and variety, and forever glows !
Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey(1516-47) :
A friend and disciple of Wyatt a soldier and a sonneteer,
Who was finally beheaded for his hot-headed behavior!
Surrey modified the Petrarch’s model which was used later
with such fine effect by Milton and Rossetti,
And also by Shakespeare in his sonnet sequence subsequently!
His many love poems and some sonnets were published in the
same ‘Tottel’s Miscellany’, (1557)
But his most important translation of Virgil’s ‘Aeneid’ was
published separately;
Where we find the very first use of the ‘Blank Verse’ with his
fondness for end-stopped lines ;
Which later in the hands of Shakespeare and Milton reached
heights divine !
Sir Phillip Sidney(1554-86) :
An elegant literary courtier during the Elizabethan era ;
A versatile sonneteer before Spencer and Shakespeare!
His finest achievement being his connected sequence of 108
love sonnets titled ‘Astrophel and Stella’;
Addressed to his ‘mistress’ Lady Penelope Rich, couched
in a language which was delicately archaic .
Sidney adopts the Petrarchan octave, with variations in the
sestet, which include a final couplet !
His ‘Apologie for Poetrie’- a great critical essay in English in
defense of poetry,
Against the abusive Puritan pamphlets, where he places poetry
at a higher pedestal than history and philosophy !
All his works including his pastoral romance ‘Arcadia’,
embodying the ideals of medieval chivalry, -
Were published posthumously, since he died at the age of
32 years, while assisting the Dutch against the Spaniards,
fighting gallantly !
Some Lyricists and Sonneteers of the 16th Century:
Before concluding with the great Elizabethan sonneteer Edmund Spencer ,
My Story remains incomplete without mentioning few of the
other lyricists and sonneteers !
There is Michael Drayton with his sonnet ‘A Parting’;-
“ Since there’s no help, come let us kiss and part,
Nay I have done, you get no more of me ;
And I am glad, yea glad with all my heart,
That thus so cleanly I myself free….”
Around Spencer we have a number of verse writers like Giles
Fletcher, Thomas Lodge, William Percy, and the mysterious
‘JC’ with his pretty 6-line stanzas!
There is Henry Constable whose sonnets have Spencer’s sensuous
charm; -
“My Lady’s presence makes the Rose red,
Because to see her lips they blush for shame,
The Lily’s leaves, for envy, pale became;
And her white hands in them this envy bread….”
Let me now cut short here, do pardon me for the length;
But let not brevity deprive English Literature of her illustrious Poets !
Edmund Spencer (1552 – 1599):
With Spencer we enter the ‘golden age’ of the Elizabethan
Literature,
A hundred and fifty years after Chaucer, and close on the
heels of Shakespeare !
In 1579 Spencer came into focus as a member Sir Philip
Sidney’s literary circle in London;
Who introduced Spencer to the Queen, and also became his
patron !
Spencer was soon appointed as the Lord–Deputy of Ireland ,
And served for 18 years the English Government;
Marrying an Irish woman to settle permanently in Ireland .
But later his castle was burnt following sporadic rebellions;
When one of his children in the blaze perished ;
He finally returned and died in London both heartbroken and famished!
I shall now briefly touch upon his sonnets, and that famous epic
of legend and romance ,
Which adequately shows his poetic talent and literary genius !
Sonnets of Spencer:
In an age which found its natural literary expression in Drama,
Spencer was perhaps the greatest non-dramatic poet by far !
His ‘Amoretti, an 88-Sonnet sequence in the Petrarchan style,
Describe his love for an young Irish lady Elizabeth Boyle, whom
he much adored, marrying her in 1594 !
This also inspired him to compose ‘Epithalamium’ the noblest English wedding hymn ,
Which during weddings one could also recite and sing !
Spencer was a devout Protestant in whom the Puritan side and
the artistic side had both reconciled !
I present from his ‘Amoretti’ Sonnet-75, where he tells Elizabeth that through his poetic lines, their love shall forever survive !
“One day I wrote her name upon the sand,
But came the waves and washed it away.
Again I wrote it with a second hand,
But came the tide and made my pains his prey.
‘Vane man,’ said she, ‘that doest in vain assay
A mortal thing so to immortalize
For I myself shall like to this decay,
And eek my name be wiped out likewise.’
‘Not so’ (quoth I), ‘let baser things devise
To die in dust, but you shall live by fame,
My verse your virtues shall eternize,
And in the heavens write your glorious name.
When whereas death shall all the world subdue,
Our love shall live, and later life renew.”
-----------------------------
Spencer’s ‘Faerie Queen’:
On this romantic and allegorical epic rests Spenser’s enduring
fame;
Having invented the ‘Spenserian Stanzas’ to compose the same!
This unique stanza has first 8-lines in iambic pentameter,
Followed by a single ninth Alexandrian line of iambic hexameter!
This allegorical work was written in praise of Queen Elizabeth’s glorious reign .
The ‘Gloriana’ of the ‘Fairy Land’ who keeps her annual feast of
twelve days,
When on each day at her command a chivalrous knight undertakes an adventure ,
Which forms the story of a single book as the text of this literature!
His twelve knights–errant symbolizes the ‘cardinal virtues’ of Aristotle;
Holiness, temperance, chastity, friendship, courtesy and so on;
With Arthur symbolizing the primary virtue of ‘magnificence’, which is the perfection of them all !
Arthur becomes the inter-linking central figure to whom the Tudors trace their lineage,
Here Spencer draws his inspiration from Geoffrey of Monmouth’s
‘King Arthur’ of the Medieval Age !
Arthur goes in search of the legendary ‘Faerie Queen’ in the
adventurous land of fairies;
Though considered as a didactic morale allegory, it also depicts
the reality of the 16th century !
Initially conceived as 12 Books only six got written and printed
when he was alive, ( See Notes)
But it did please Queen Elizabeth-I, who promised a pension to
Spencer for the rest of his life !
Despite the archaic language, the graphical power of imagery,
with alliteration, vowel-music and cadence;
Are all skillfully fashioned, making Spencer almost peerless!
“Sweet Spencer, moving through his clouded heaven
With the moon’s beauty and moon’s soft pace…”
- Exclaimed Wordsworth in Spencer’s praise !
With this dear readers I take a break concluding Section One of
Part–Four ;
The Second Section shall cover the Elizabethan Drama and Christopher Marlow;
Concluding with the salient features of William Shakespeare,
As I pay my humble tribute to English Literature so dear!
(To be continued as Section-Two of Part Four)
**ALL COPYRIGHTS ARE WITH: RAJ NANDY OF NEW DELHI**
FOOT NOTES:-
Hundred Years’ War:- This war commenced with Edward III of England claming
the French throne, when Charles IV of France died without an heir, since his mother Isobel was the sister of Charles IV. Series of battles took place between England & France between1337 &1453;, with periods of uneasy true in between ! Initially the English with their longbow archers won victory at Crecy. Later in 1414, under Henry V of England won the Battle of Agincourt, winning land in Northern France north of Loire River. In 1429 a turning point in battle came with Joan of Arc & Charles VII of France, -winning back lost French territories, with England keeping Calais; bringing an end to this war ! War of Rose (1455-1485):-- Two years later a dynastic war erupted between sons of late Edward III & their descendants for the English throne ;-The House of Lancaster with ‘Red Rose’ as their emblem & the Hose of York with ‘White Rose’ of their badge ! Finally, it was Henry Tudor who claimed descent from Owen Tudor with Welsh blood , defeated Richard the Third in the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485; he married Elizabeth of York & ended this long war !
Therefore, for almost 150 years the political, social & economic situation of England
had remained unstable, which affected the growth of English Literature adversely!
Stability Under the Tudors: Henry VII spent most of his time consolidating the Kingdom ; while under Henry-VIII both Oxford & Cambridge Universities flourished, & with the impact of the Italian Renaissance, both English Literature and English Language asserted itself, - blossoming fully in the Elizabethan Age !
‘The Great Vowel Shift’:- took place between mid-15th to mid-18th centuries in England, first studied by the Danish linguist Otto Jesperson, who coined this term!
Vowels are pronounced in different areas of the mouth , with the chin moving up
and down, where high vowels are pronounced with chin up. This shift affected the ‘long vowels’ or ‘tense vowels’; short vowels not affected. During the shift the vowels rose upwards, pushing the next higher vowel into the slot above. Since the vowels ‘i’ & ‘u’ had no higher place to go they became ‘Diphthongs’ !
High Vowels = i , u
Mid Vowels = e , o
Low Vowel= a.
Mid long vowels became high vowels, & low vowel became mid vowels, and so on! ‘Diphthongs’ are also known as ‘gliding vowels’ where two vowel sounds get connected , for example vowels ‘ai’ sound in ‘hide’&’like’, though spelled with a single ‘i’ ! The ‘ou’ vowel sound in ‘go’ &’own’; and ‘ie’ vowel sound in ’here’ & ‘really’. Jesperson had also said that these long vowel sounds are gradually shortening as in Middle English ‘riden, ’fowels, ’newe’, ‘growen’ had become ‘ride’, ‘fowls’, ‘new’ &’grow’ !
Evolution of ‘Chancery Standard’ as Modern English :- After the ‘Hundred Years’ War’, France became the enemy nation, promoting national sentiments & feelings,
encouraging the development of the English Language . In 1362 by the ’Statue of Pleading’, English had been made the official language in Parliament & also for all legal proceedings . The proximity of Oxford, Cambridge and London which formed the ‘golden triangle’, along with Caxton’s Printing Press , -promoted the use of the
East Midland dialect as the national language !
Peculiarities In The English Language : ‘The Vowel Shift’ introduced changes in pronunciation, with spelling of words often remaining the same ! Besides , there was
a lack of standardization in spelling during Early Modern English period ! Example: – Mod. Eng. ‘Lady’ derived from Old Eng. ‘Hlaefdi’= ‘loaf-kneader’; was being spelt as ‘lafdi’,’laidi’,’ledy’! And Mod Eng. ‘Lord’ from Old Eng. word
‘Hlaford’= ‘loaf-guardian’; was being spelt as ‘lourde’, ‘lorde’, ‘lowered’ !
Also, influx of French, Latin, & Greek words during The Renaissance, added to the problem ! Initial ‘h’ was not being pronounced in words ‘honour’, ‘honest’. ‘hour’. But the French words ‘host,‘hospital’,‘horror’; reintroduced the ‘h’ pronunciation ! These are only few examples as way of illustration ! There are many more !
Spencer’s ‘Faerie Queen’ : First 3 books were published in 1590 & next 3 books in 1596. Part of the 7th Book was published after his death, as the remaining portion was burnt in his castle in Ireland-, where he lost one of his sons & barely escaped with his life ! His efforts to enter the Elizabethan Court failed because he had antagonized Lord Burghley, Queen’s Principal Secretary in the past, even though he impressed the Queen with his ‘Faerie Queen’, for which he was promised a reward of 100 pounds ! When the amount got withheld, Spencer sent the following Quatrain to Queen Elizabeth I :-
“I was promised on a time / To have a reason for my rhyme; / But from that time
unto this day /I had neither rhyme or reason.” So the Queen told Lord Burghley to release the payment, since he was hesitant to pay so much ‘just for a song’, as he had exclaimed !!
** ALL COPYRIGHTS WITH RAJ NANDY OF NEW DELHI**
E-Mail: rajnandy21@yahoo.in
Excellent contribution! Your painstaking work shall certainly benefit those who love Literature.
Very comprehensive indeed, Raj Nandy...thorough and meticulous
Stunning the work and dedication put into these works.. Thank you for it from the generations that come and us at poetfreak.. Cat
Thanks Raj it's more than an overview your literature skill & knowledge!
My sincere thanks to all my Readers who have displayed their interests to know the lesser known facts of English Literature which has many facets , and also for their encouraging comments ! Both Vidhya and Deeptangshu are Post-Graduate students of Literature and Mamta ji is an ex-lecturer of English from Chandighar University . I remain grateful to all my readers once again for their encouraging comments ! -Raj
Wonderful. Sir, it's so comprehensive and full of fascinating facts!
This is simply mindblowing Raj; I have always been intersted in Sonnets, do try compose some, but here there is so much to explore and delve into for a better appreciation of the form. I always thought studying linguistics as my optional paper for final year in Post graduation in English Literature, would have been more rewarding than Modern fiction which I chose to specialise in. You are like a professor who invites students, arouses interest to set off on a journey of personal quest, with your inputs. I waited to go through this one, for I was unwell and wanted to study in a proper state of equanimity. As Karin says, this section is of personal interest to me and I shall take a print out with your permission. I can see poets like Ron Peat are very well aquainted with literary trends and evolution. Honestly I have a lot to learn. Thanks for ingniting my mind!
Thank you Raj and there is so much to take in with this wealth of information. I was also interested in the great vowel shift, and was surprised that the Caxton printing press was brought into England as early as 1476. I did enjoy the information on Sonnets and had wondered about the Petrach Sonnet and development of it and found the Henry Constable Sonnet interesting too. It made me realize how much I don't know and I wouldn't mind doing a course in English literature, not for a degree, but just for my own interest one day. As Gita comments this will assist students of English Literature and thanks for the great job you are doing putting it all together~
Well done Raj. You have all the big changes here for sure. People like Hopkins and other metaphysical poets also experimented with sonnet as you know. The modern sonnet as evolved away form end-stopping and moved toward less archaic language usage of reversals within the line to form a rhyme. It is far more (noun verb noun) oriented as (subject, action, object of the action) in presentation. Yet you still a lot of beginners making line reversals for a rhyme rather than writing through the rhyme into the next line to create a caesura. Which also goes along with the modern use of enjambment for forward pacing of the poem. I like what you have covered so throughly here. This is great Raj. A poet friend..RH Peat
This is a fabulous compendium that traces the journey of the English language. As a person with a science background, I have learned many new and interesting facts from this composition - in particular - "The Vowel Shift". Mention of many of the well-known poets of the Elizabethan age along with samples from their outstanding literary work - especially the sonnets makes this work an informative and erudite one. I can fathom the amount of research, hard work and organization that has gone into producing a literary work of such a remarkable quality. It will certainly be a boon to all students and teachers of English Literature and anyone interested in knowing about the origins of the English language.
much indebted to your skills and toils
Thank you Raj for all the information you compile, and I have copied this so I can read it when I have plenty of time to comprehend it. It is a fascinating subject indeed and know I will enjoy it~
Raj, I must thank you first for all the research you must have painstakingly carried out. Part four is long but I found it most interesting as it furthered my education for many of the poets you mentioned are unknown to me. I feel this is great work done by yourself, which will be of value to future generations of wordsmiths.
Fortunately , my Note Book is full of all the poets ! But as I had mentioned on top , I am using Only 60% of my materials because most of the readers don't like the length , the attention span being very short these days ! I have also left out many of the important works of Edmund Spencer here ! But since all this is going in for publication by March/April this year , I will be adding a few more things in all the Four Parts posted so far, - during my final editing with Maps of old England & Chronology Sheet ! I am fully aware of all the poets dear Jenny ! Thanks ! -Raj
Happily you gave tribute to Michael Drayton, yet how did it come about that you totally ignored Samuel Daniels? You must check into him and his contributions to poetry, at least the way Mains' anthology presents him, you do readers a bit of a disservice in not paying tribute to his contributions. I have gotten the impression Daniels might have even served as "poet laureate" which seems to make him all the more applicable. But I am no scholar. Thanks for this beautiful, though brief, snippet of English literature's history. I enjoyed the lesson.
very erudite as always Raj
Brief and beautiful treatise on the history of English verse between Chaucer and Spencer with all its linguistic nuances and ingenious forms punctuated by historical events of the period. You have written the literary history in so persuasive a manner that sustains readers' interest till the end. Your postings on English literary history are power packs of knowledge with a magical poetic touch about them. Your contribution is great.
You educate your readers by sharing your vast knowledge with them,the facts you painted through your poems are really intresting....the most important feature is the way you express those historic facts in vivid poetic manner....it keeps our eyes till the last line of the poem.....what can I simply say is you are "GREAT"........!
I have always adored Spencer’s ‘Faerie Queen’.And I specially thank you for this part of the series.Loads of great things to learn.Great work without doubt.
From Chaucer to Shakespeare and back more in time then by your magical writing forward we are brought into the era of printing and the changes to English yet again needed. Raj this is an epic well worth the fine completion and best wishes as well as thanks for the magnificent effort you have taken for this informative work from allegorical poems to satirical ballads you have truly covered the progress of English literature most excitingly.
Great to read about poets prior to Shakespeare and their contributions. Spencer's "The Faerie queen" is considered a HUGE epic poem, yet its an unfinished work. This is another enlightening lesson for English poetry lovers in a poetic format. Congratulations on competing this part.
Thanks Raj for this educative and erudite write on the history of the English Language which when read with the earlier 3 parts published by you acts as treasure trove of information for both students and teachers of the Language. It can be an important source of information those who are just interested in reading more about the History of English Literature....I enjoyed reading about the Sonnets..
A very full and interesting write about English literature
Thank you so much..I am a final year pg literature student..This work is really helpful for the students.Thanks a lot.
MY PROLOGUE: To Whom It May Concern! When you published this here, my eldest sister-in-law died, I mean: the wife of my eldest brother-in-law who is 5 years his senior and really the eldest sister-in-law, my hub has 8 bro's and sissies, he is the 6th of 8 children(his eldest sister died at the age of 9 months, so no one has known her, incl.my hub, so that's why we always say that my hub's the 6th child of 8 children, she was buried the 11th January 2012 and...after 6 days my hub must go to the hospital by emergency ambulance! So since the 18th January my life changed totally, you CANNOT IMAGINE, Raj! If there is more than 360 degrees, than it's that change! Really my work-scheme has got another rhythm, so entirely different. I was fond of your researchresult as you have published here, but after this emergency incident I have to pay attention to my dear hub's condition a 100%, so many hospital visits in one day, because he must undergo an acute operation that fatal day too, otherwise his left leg would be amputated. Since he is a specialist he knew that this must happen when the operation didn't take place at once, that early morn too!! I had to call the specialist to operate him, it was his own colleague (my hub is an urologist). My hub's got an Aorta dissection type B. After 31 days in the hospital, he was allowed to go home, this aorta disease was not so dangerous anymore as before, but the danger is always peeping till now, Raj. Since his coming home, he's got 3 nurses to take care of him during the day: morn, noon and evening. They come for mostly 45 minutes, no more. The REST I have to take care of, Raj, like giving him his pills, breakfast, lunch and dinner. At such times, I tell myself: Wish I were in Jakarta again! My family up there is larger and....I have more personnel in the house....NOW I am here READING YOUR LITERARY RESEARCH-RESULTS which is very relaxing for me after such a very hectic period. BTW I still have my daily job to do: to the schoolkids to teach them. Can you imagine how busy I still am, but now it's more relaxing, since my hub is at home again (on the 17th Feb 2012) and...I have my cliënts on Wednesdays. On Wednesday and Friday I am free from teaching. When you noticed I was absent in giving comments on your workresults, you haven't known what I was doing or what happened to me, later came my explanation thru my message and you fully understood, but now I am repeating it once again, since my hub is now at home again after being hospitalized 4,5 weeks. NOW about YOUR WORK, SIR! As I have said before, Raj, to read your literary researchresults is like coming home for me, an afterstudy petite course, a delightful treat to repeat once again what I have learned, and in such a beautiful attractive form, the pocketform, since the long form is really dull and exhausting....I am glad that I finished this study (as I have told you I had the same subject as yours) and am exceptionally glad that I can enjoy it now, just because YOU HAVE MADE IT ABLE !! I still have The Canterbury Tales...entirely different than reading yours, Raj. So between Chaucer and Spencer there was Dunbar...how interesting. How nice to have this refreshing course of you, Raj! I have deep respect for you to minimalize it for us, the readers. I regard you still as my internet-tutor in the English Language-and Literature. Now I am going to read the next Part.