The Penguin Book of Renaissance Verse

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.