An Introduction to Middle English Lyrics (eBook)

William A. Quinn (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025
302 Seiten
University Press of Florida (Verlag)
978-0-8130-7395-8 (ISBN)

Infos

Understanding a medieval poetry genre through moderntranslations, commentary, and the role of performanceMiddle Englishlyrics are anonymous short poems that were composed between the twelfth andsixteenth centuries. They address a range of themes, both secular andreligious, and usually emphasize the authors personal relationship to thesubject matter. In this introduction to the genre, William Quinn offers anoverview of the large body of work, identifying common features and trends overtime and discussing select examples in detail.Quinn argues thatMiddle English lyrics are best understood when read as emotional performances andguides readers through the poems expressions of joy, sorrow, anger, fear,compassion, spiritual devotion, romantic attraction, erotic frustration, andgender-targeted contempt. For the poems he considers in detail, Quinn provides line-for-linemodern renditions of the Middle English texts. The book also includes commentarieskeyed to the original texts, intended to prompt interpretations and enrichunderstandings of the lyrics. Quinn concludes by tracing the later developmentof versification from medieval to Renaissance lyrics, looking at work by Chaucer,Hoccleve, Petrarch, Wyatt, Surrey, and Shakespeare.An Introduction toMiddle English Lyricsencourages readers to appreciate this literary genre on its own terms and toreconsider modern ideas of what makes a good poem. With a deeper knowledge ofhow lyrics functioned in their historical settings, this book fosters areassessment of their significance to the broader history of English poetry.A volume in theseries New Perspectives on Medieval Literature: Authors and Traditions, editedby R. Barton Palmer and Tison Pugh

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 7.10.2025
• Reihe/Serie: New Perspectives on Medieval Literature: Authors and Traditions
• Zusatzinfo: 6 b/w illus., table, notes, appendices, bibliography, index
• Sprache: englisch
• Maße: 140 x 140 mm
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Essays / Feuilleton
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Sprach- / Literaturwissenschaft ► Anglistik / Amerikanistik
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Sprach- / Literaturwissenschaft ► Literaturwissenschaft
• Schlagworte: Alterity • Courtly Love • Gender Studies • Genre studies • History of Emotion • history of English poetry • Lyric Poetry • Middle English • Middle English Lyrics • paratextual studies • Performance • popular song • Prosody • Renaissance • rhetoric • sexual conflict
• ISBN-10: 0-8130-7395-2 / 0813073952
• ISBN-13: 978-0-8130-7395-8 / 9780813073958