Publisher's Synopsis
Although the term "courtier poet" is widely used in discussions of Elizabethan literature, it has never been carefully defined. In this study, Steven W.May isolates the elite social environment of the court by defining the words "court" and "courtier" as they were understood by Tudor aristocrats. He examines the types of poems that these poets wrote, the occasions for which they wrote, and the nature of the poems themselves.;In Part I, a critical history of courtier verse, May studies Queen Elizabeth's court as a unique social and cultural milieu. He examines the types of poetry written by courtiers, how their works affected their careers, and how courtier verse reflected the social and political dimensions of courtiership.;Part II provides a biographical listing of 32 courtier poets, including Sir John Harington, Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Philip Sidney, and Queen Elizabeth herself. May establishes the credentials of each poet as a courtier and identifies the canons of their poetry. In addition, he includes critical texts for most of the previously unedited works, along with careful documentation for their manuscript sources.
