Goe Thou Forth My Booke': Authorial Self-Assertion and Self-Representation in Printings of Renaissance Poetry
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ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: MAKING ENGLISH LOW: A
ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: MAKING ENGLISH LOW: A HISTORY OF LAUREATE POETICS, 1399-1616 Christine Maffuccio, Doctor of Philosophy, 2018 Dissertation directed by: Professor Theresa Coletti Department of English My dissertation analyzes lowbrow literary forms, tropes, and modes in the writings of three would-be laureates, writers who otherwise sought to align themselves with cultural and political authorities and who themselves aspired to national prominence: Thomas Hoccleve (c. 1367-1426), John Skelton (c. 1460-1529), and Ben Jonson (1572-1637). In so doing, my project proposes a new approach to early English laureateship. Previous studies assume that aspiration English writers fashioned their new mantles exclusively from high learning, refined verse, and the moral virtues of elite poetry. In the writings and self-fashionings that I analyze, however, these would-be laureates employed literary low culture to insert themselves into a prestigious, international lineage; they did so even while creating personas that were uniquely English. Previous studies have also neglected the development of early laureateship and nationalist poetics across the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries. Examining the ways that cultural cachet—once the sole property of the elite—became accessible to popular audiences, my project accounts for and depends on a long view. My first two chapters analyze writers whose idiosyncrasies have afforded them a marginal position in literary histories. In Chapter 1, I argue that Hoccleve channels Chaucer’s Host, Harry Bailly, in the Male Regle and the Series. Like Harry, Hoccleve draws upon quotidian London experiences to create a uniquely English writerly voice worthy of laureate status. In Chapter 2, I argue that Skelton enshrine the poet’s own fleeting historical experience in the Garlande of Laurell and Phyllyp Sparowe by employing contrasting prosodies to juxtapose the rhythms of tradition with his own demotic meter. -
Thomas Hoccleve and the Poetics of Reading Elon Lang Washington University in St
Washington University in St. Louis Washington University Open Scholarship All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) January 2010 Thomas Hoccleve and the Poetics of Reading Elon Lang Washington University in St. Louis Follow this and additional works at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/etd Recommended Citation Lang, Elon, "Thomas Hoccleve and the Poetics of Reading" (2010). All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs). 192. https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/etd/192 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by Washington University Open Scholarship. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) by an authorized administrator of Washington University Open Scholarship. For more information, please contact [email protected]. WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS Department of English and American Literature Dissertation Examination Committee: David Lawton, Chair Antony Hasler William Layher Joseph Loewenstein William McKelvy Jessica Rosenfeld THOMAS HOCCLEVE AND THE POETICS OF READING by Elon Meir Lang A dissertation presented to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Washington University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy August 2010 Saint Louis, Missouri copyright by Elon Meir Lang August 2010 Acknowledgements In writing this dissertation on Thomas Hoccleve, who so often describes his reliance on the support of patrons in his poetry, I have become very conscious of my own indebtedness to numerous institutions and individuals for their generous patronage. I am grateful to the Washington University Department of English and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences for their academic and financial support during my graduate student career. I feel fortunate to have been part of a department and school that have enabled me to do research at domestic and international archives through both independent funding initiatives and an association with the Newberry Library Consortium. -
An Annotated Edition
John Taylor’s Nonsence upon Sence, or Sence upon Nonsence: An Annotated Edition By Emily Cock Supervised by K.K. Ruthven Submitted in part-fulfillment of the BA(Hons) Discipline of English and Creative Writing The University of Adelaide November 2007 To Ken and Kirsty, who’ve had to live with Taylor and me. 2 Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................... 4 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 5 Note on the Text ..................................................................................................................... 12 The Text: Part One (1651) .................................................................................................... 13 Appendix 1: Facsimile of Nonsence (1651) ........................................................................ 137 Appendix 2: ‘The Second Part’ (1651b) ............................................................................ 138 Appendix 3: ‘The Third Part’ (1654) ................................................................................. 151 Works Cited ......................................................................................................................... 162 Publications by John Taylor .............................................................................................. 162 General ............................................................................................................................. -
John Skelton (1460?–1529)
Hunter: Renaissance Literature 9781405150477_4_001 Page Proof page 17 16.1.2009 4:27pm John Skelton (1460?–1529) Although there is little reliable information and vulgar erotic verse (‘‘The Tunning of about Skelton’s early life, he appears to have Elynour Rummyng’’). During his rectorship he studied at both Cambridge and Oxford, where also wrote two comic Latin epitaphs on mem- he was awarded the title of ‘‘laureate’’ (an bers of his congregation (‘‘Epitaph for Adam advanced degree in rhetoric) in 1488; he later Udersall’’ and ‘‘A Devout Trental for Old John received the same honor from the universities Clarke’’) which anticipate the satirical vein of of Cambridge and Louvain. Some time in the his later poetry. He also wrote Latin verse and 1490s, he went up to London and the court, made some translations from Latin. The tone where he wrote some occasional poems and and themes of his poems vary wildly within as dramatic entertainments. In 1498, Skelton well as between them, and he excels at using took holy orders and soon after became the commonplace situations as comic vehicles for tutor of Prince Henry (later King Henry learned disputes or reflections. A good example VIII). When Erasmus visited England in is ‘‘Ware the Hawk,’’ a poem about a neighbor- 1499, he described Skelton as unum Britanni- ing curate who has been hunting with his hawk carum litterarum lumen ac decus (‘‘the singular in Skelton’s church at Diss. The bird’s fouling of light and glory of British letters’’); while he the altar, chalice, and host becomes the occa- had his detractors as well, this shows that sion for a poetic sermon (carefully divided into Skelton was an established poet and scholar named sections) and a table of conclusions for and he has always been considered the most the erring hawk-owner to follow. -
Thomas Churchyard: a Study of His Prose and Poetry
This dissertation has been microfilmed exactly as received 67-6366 ST. ONGE, Henry Orion, 1927- THOMAS CHURCHYARD: A STUDY OF HIS PROSE AND POETRY. The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1966 Language and Literature, general University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan © Copyright by Henry Orion St. Onge 1967 THOMAS CHURCHYARD: A STUDY OF HIS PROSE AND POETRY DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Henry Orion St. Onge, A.E., M.A. ******* The Ohio State University 1966 Approved by Adviser Department of English ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Although it is perhaps in the natural order of things that a doctoral candidate acknowledges the aid and guidance of his adviser, in my case I feel that the circumstances are somewhat out of the ordinary. Therefore, I wish to make a special acknowledgment of the great debt I owe to my adviser. Professor Ruth W. Hughey. The debt is due not only to her expenditure of scholarship but is owed as well to the demands I have made on her kindness and generosity and patience. I would like also to acknowledge the understanding treatment I received from the Executive Committee of the Graduate School of The Ohio State University. It goes without saying that I thank the professors of the English Department of The Ohio State University who have taught me and encouraged me. Finally, I must express my gratitude to the staffs of - the libraries at The Ohio State University, Cornell Univer sity, St. Lawrence University, and the State University of New York. -
Packaging Thomas Speght's Chaucer for Renaissance Readers
Article “In his old dress”: Packaging Thomas Speght's Chaucer for Renaissance Readers SINGH, Devani Mandira Abstract This article subjects Thomas Speght's Chaucer editions (1598; 1602) to a consideration of how these books conceive, invite, and influence their readership. Studying the highly wrought forms of the dedicatory epistle to Sir Robert Cecil, the prefatory letter by Francis Beaumont, and the address “To the Readers,” it argues that these paratexts warrant closer attention for their treatment of the entangled relationships between editor, patron, and reader. Where prior work has suggested that Speght’s audience for the editions was a socially horizontal group and that he only haltingly sought wider publication, this article suggests that the preliminaries perform a multivocal role, poised to readily receive a diffuse readership of both familiar and newer consumers. Reference SINGH, Devani Mandira. “In his old dress”: Packaging Thomas Speght’s Chaucer for Renaissance Readers. Chaucer Review, 2016, vol. 51, no. 4, p. 478-502 Available at: http://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:88361 Disclaimer: layout of this document may differ from the published version. 1 / 1 Pre-copyedited version of the article published in The Chaucer Review 51.4 (2016): 478-502. “In his old dress”: Packaging Thomas Speght’s Chaucer for Renaissance Readers Devani Singh Abstract: This article subjects Thomas Speght's Chaucer editions (1598; 1602) to a consideration of how these books conceive, invite, and influence their readership. Studying the highly wrought forms of the dedicatory epistle to Sir Robert Cecil, the prefatory letter by Francis Beaumont, and the address “To the Readers,” it argues that these paratexts warrant closer attention for their treatment of the entangled relationships between editor, patron, and reader. -
Reading Medieval Studies
READING MEDIEVAL STUDIES Justification by Good Works: Skelton's The Garland of lcurel As his frequent references to his laureate status suggest, Skelton was an extremely self-conscious artist concerned with his vocation not only as a poet to the court, but also as a votes, a prophetic voice crying in the wilder ness of Wolsey's England . Both these aspects of his coreer, the public or officiol and the vatic, led to discussions in his poetry of his role in each .of them. He presents his prophetic credentials in the second part of the late Replicacioun where, replying to criticism thot poetry is an unsuitable medium for theological debate, he draws on a long tradition of defences of the doctrine of divine inspiration to poets by citing St Jerome's classic discussion of the poetical and prophetical status of the Psalter and of David's role in its com position . Using the rime-royal stanza he reserves for the most elevated subjects, Skelton translates Jerome's latin: Kyng David the Prophete, of prophetes principe II, Of poetes chefe peete, saint Jerome doth wright (329-30) and continues with Jerome likening David to Simonides, Pinder and other classical poets. 1 Behind the charge and its refutation lies a history of similar debates about the status of poetry, and Skelton is deliberately and consciously appealing to that tradition to validate his claim to be inspired through the Holy Spirit. 2 By contrast with this invocation of the power of the o.ristian muse, the public or courtly poetry is presided over by a very different genius. -
The Elizabethan Court Day by Day--1578
1578 1578 At HAMPTON COURT, Middlesex. Jan 1, Wed New Year gifts. Among 201 gifts to the Queen: by Sir Gilbert Dethick, Garter King of Arms: ‘A Book of the States in King William Conqueror’s time’; by William Absolon, Master of the Savoy: ‘A Bible covered with cloth of gold garnished with silver and gilt and two plates with the Queen’s Arms’; by Petruccio Ubaldini: ‘Two pictures, the one of Judith and Holofernes, the other of Jula and Sectra’.NYG [Julia and Emperor Severus]. Jan 1: Henry Lyte dedicated to the Queen: ‘A New Herbal or History of Plants, wherein is contained the whole discourse and perfect description of all sorts of Herbs and Plants: their divers and sundry kinds: their strange Figures, Fashions, and Shapes: their Names, Natures, Operations and Virtues: and that not only of those which are here growing in this our Country of England, but of all others also of sovereign Realms, commonly used in Physick. First set forth in the Dutch or Almain tongue by that learned Dr Rembert Dodoens, Physician to the Emperor..Now first translated out of French into English by Henry Lyte Esquire’. ‘To the most High, Noble, and Renowned Princess, our most dread redoubtful Sovereign Lady Elizabeth...Two things have moved me...to offer the same unto your Majesty’s protection. The one was that most clear, amiable and cheerful countenance towards all learning and virtue, which on every side most brightly from your Royal person appearing, hath so inflamed and encouraged, not only me, to the love and admiration thereof, but all such others also, your Grace’s loyal subjects...that we think no travail too great, whereby we are in hope both to profit our Country, and to please so noble and loving a Princess...The other was that earnest and fervent desire that I have, and a long time have had, to show myself (by yielding some fruit of painful diligence) a thankful subject to so virtuous a Sovereign, and a fruitful member of so good a commonwealth’.. -
Biography John Taylor
Biography John Taylor When literature revived, the same kind of pleasure which had just before been given by a pedantic vocabulary, was produced by classical allusions, and imitations of ancient, or of Italian writers. The language then improved so suddenly, that it changed more in the course of one generation than it had done in the two preceding centuries; Elizabeth, who grew up while it was comparatively barbarous, lived to see it made capable of giving adequate expression to the loftiest conceptions of human imagination. Poets were then, perhaps, more abundant than they have been in any subsequent age until the present: and, as a necessary consequence of that abundance, all tricks of style were tried, and all fantasticalities of conceit abounded; they who were poets by imitative desire or endeavour, putting forth their strength in artificial and ambitious efforts, while the true poets held the true course, . though the best of them did not always escape from what had thus been made the vice of their age. The circumstances, therefore, of low breeding and defective education were so unfavourable, that the first person who, in a certain degree overcame them, obtained great notoriety, and no inconsiderable share of patronage. This was John Taylor, the Water-Poet, a man who has long been more known by name than by his writings. He was born in Gloucestershire, but at what place none of his biographers have stated in their scanty notices, nor has he himself mentioned in the volume entitled, "All the Works of John Taylor, the Water-Poet, being sixty-three in number, collected into one Volume by the Author, with sundry new Additions, corrected, revised, and newly imprinted, 1630." The book, though in height that of a modern quarto, would be catalogued among folios, for its shape; it is in fact neither, but of a nondescript size which may be called sexto, the sheet being folded into six leaves. -
Chaucer, St Loy, and the Celts
Chaucer, St Loy, and the Celts Andrew Breeze University of Navarre, Pampiona Although St Loy the smith was one of the popular saints of late medieval Europe, the British evidence for his legend has never been full y described. In its common form the legend tells how St Loy, while working as a blacksmith, calmed a dangerously rearing horse (believed possessed by the Devil) with the sign of the cross, cut off its leg, shod the leg, and then attached it to the horse again without ill effect. This story was known to Chaucer and St Thomas More, both of whom allude to the saint's power with horses. Other references to the legend in Britain occur in sources as diverse as English art, Welsh poetry, and Protestant polemic. However, in spite of its popularity, this story has been neglected by Anglicists and others, perhaps because it existed almost entirely in oral form. There certainly seems to be no narrative written version of it in medieval British sources. In fact the oral nature of the legend receives striking confinnation from modern Irish and Scottish Gaelic folklore, where the account of the miraculous shoeing. without mention of St Loy, forms the first part of the tale Gabha an (Suic, 'The Smith of the Ploughshare'. Over the last hundred years or so this story has been coll ected from most parts of Ireland by folklore scholars, as well as in a Scottish Gaelic version from Tifee in the Inner Hebrides. We can assume that the tale of the miraculous shoeing was as familiar in medieval English spoken tradition as it has been in the spoken tradition of modem Gaelic communities. -
By Lindsay Ann Reid a Thesis Submitted in Conformity with the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Depar
BIBLIOFICTIONS: OVIDIAN HEROINES AND THE TUDOR BOOK by Lindsay Ann Reid A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of English University of Toronto © Copyright by Lindsay Ann Reid (2009) ABSTRACT ―Bibliofictions: Ovidian Heroines and the Tudor Book‖ Lindsay Ann Reid Doctor of Philosophy, 2009 Graduate Department of English, University of Toronto This dissertation explores how the mythological heroines from Ovid‘s Heroides and Metamorphoses were catalogued, conflated, reconceived, and recontextualized in vernacular literature; in so doing, it joins considerations of voice, authority, and gender with reflections on Tudor technologies of textual reproduction and ideas about the book. In the late medieval and Renaissance eras, Ovid‘s poetry stimulated the imaginations of authors ranging from Geoffrey Chaucer and John Gower to Isabella Whitney, William Shakespeare, and Michael Drayton. Ovid‘s characteristic bookishness—his interest in textual revision and his thematization of the physicality and malleability of art in its physical environments—was not lost upon these postclassical interpreters who engaged with his polysemous cast of female characters. His numerous English protégés replicated and expanded Ovid‘s metatextual concerns by reading and rewriting his metamorphic poetry in light of the metaphors through which they understood both established networks of scribal dissemination and emergent modes of printed book production. My study of Greco-Roman tradition and English ―bibliofictions‖ (or fictive representations of books, their life cycles, and the communication circuits in which they operate) melds literary analysis with the theoretical concerns of book history by focusing on intersections and interactions between physical, metaphorical, and imaginary books. -
How to Remember Thee?: Problems of Memorialization in English Writing
Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2008 How to remember thee?: problems of memorialization in english writing, 1558-1625 Sean Flory Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the English Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation Flory, Sean, "How to remember thee?: problems of memorialization in english writing, 1558-1625" (2008). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 226. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/226 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. HOW TO REMEMBER THEE? PROBLEMS OF MEMORIALIZATION IN ENGLISH WRITING, 1558-1625 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of English by Sean Flory B.A., Sam Houston State University, 2000 December 2008 Table of Contents Abstract.......................................................................................................................................... iii Introduction. The Culture of Death in Early Modern England........................................................1