Elizabethan poetry, thriving during Queen Elizabeth I’s reign (1558-1603), is known for its rich language and exploration of themes such as love, beauty, and nature. Prominent poets like William Shakespeare, Edmund Spenser, and Christopher Marlowe crafted enduring works that influenced English literature profoundly.
Write a short note on The Elizabethan Poetry.
The period from 1558 to 1603 is considered as the time of Queen Elizabeth in the literary history of England. Elizabeth was Queen of England during this time. The period is considered the golden age of English literature. The Renaissance began in Italy in the 15th century and by the sixteenth century, it had spread throughout Europe. The greatest feature of the Renaissance was humanism, the spirit of liberalism can be seen among the people. Sixteenth-century poets also gave humanism a special place in their writings. These poets taught people the lesson of humanism and against the strict rules of the Catholic Churches. In this period Italy used to be a great centre of Greek study, where all the people of the world used to go to study Greek. Some of these scholars became Influential poets who made the Elizabethan age a glorious period with their major works.
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During the early Elizabethan age, Spenser wrote some very beautiful songs which he inserted in his ‘Shepheardes Calender’. Sir Philip Sidney kept nearer to the song and his songs “The Desire of Love” and “Ring Out Your Bells” were very popular. Christopher Marlowe, along with his many sweet poems, wrote at least one Pastoral song in the poem. Christopher Marlowe’s poem “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love”, published in 1599, gained immense popularity and drew the attention of readers to English literature which gave English literature a new direction in the future. The compilers of songbooks made some happy experiments with foreign patterns of lyrics and songs. But the most successful of them was Thomas Campion his songs are marked by extreme simplicity. Campion is more intellectual and shows better year-forward music than other contemporaries. His best-known song is “There is a Garden in her face”.
The master of Elizabethan poetry was William Shakespeare himself. The songs which are scattered all over his plays are the most original and spontaneous. In the songs of Amiens in As You Like It, we find the note of evocative pioneer. In all these songs Shakespeare has shown his deep love for nature. There are some purely fantastic songs which are quite enjoyable, for example, a few poems strike a deeper note like the dirge in Cymbeline.
Ben Jonson also wrote a lot of poetry, for example, “Come to my Celia” and “Drink to me only with thine eyes”. Elizabethan poetry and lyrics are the pure growth of English literature. Generally, breathe the fragrance of love and the English countryside.