English Renaissance Poetry: A Collection of Shorter Poems

by John Williams (Editor)

Poetry in English as we know it was largely invented in England between the early 1500s and 1630, and yet for many years the poetry of the era was considered little more than a run-up to Shakespeare. The twentieth century brought a reevaluation, and the English Renaissance has since come to be recognized as the period of extraordinary poetic experimentation that it was. Never since have the possibilities of poetic form and, especially, poetic voice—from the sublime to the scandalous and slangy—been so various and inviting. This is poetry that speaks directly across the centuries to the renaissance of poetic exploration in our own time.

John Williams’s celebrated anthology includes not only some of the most famous poems by some of the most famous poets of the English language (Sir Thomas Wyatt, John Donne, and of course Shakespeare) but also-—-and this is what makes Williams’s book such a rare and rich resource—the strikingly original work of little-known masters like George Gascoigne and Fulke Greville.

Genres: Poetry, British Literature, Ebooks

358 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

John Edward Williams, Ph.D. (University of Missouri, 1954; M.A., University of Denver, 1950; B.A., U. of D., 1949), enlisted in the USAAF early in 1942, spending two and a half years as a sergeant in India and Burma. His first novel, Nothing But the Night, was published in 1948, and his first volume of poems, The Broken Landscape, appeared the following year.

In the fall of 1955, Williams took over the directorship of the creative writing program at the University of Denver, where he taught for more than 30 years.

After retiring from the University of Denver in 1986, Williams moved with his wife, Nancy, to Fayetteville, Arkansas, where he resided until he died of respiratory failure on March 3, 1994. A fifth novel, The Sleep of Reason, was left unfinished at the time of his death.

Reviews

[Gabrielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

My then thesis advisor taught this class. High expectations. He had done his reading at Oxford when the 16th & 17th century compilations were being worked on, was a friend of Robert Pinsky and a classical pianist to boot. Equally adept at teaching 19th century literature and culture. No pressure or anything...

The love he showed to poems is like nothing I have ever seen before or since. To this day gorgeous lines of poetry roam through my thoughts thanks to Henry.

[Maltheus Broman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A treasure chest of a book! From Williams’ helpful introductions to its fine selection with a focus on two styles, Native and Petrarchan, up to Ben Jonson’s elegy for Shakespeare, this anthology is absolutely great. Guiding through masterpieces by poets of the English Renaissance, it inspires but awe and appreciation for the development of poetry through history.

[Gastjäle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not familiar with Mr. Williams' merits or demerits, but as a commentator on English Renaissance poetry, he comes off as a puerile malcontent. More than often, the little introductions he wrote for the poets were pretty dismissive, which makes one wonder: was this book a forced commission?

It also feels like my tastes do not overlap with his. He was the one who selected all these poems, and a good portion of them were rather threadbare complaints about life's evanescence and the misleading nature of love. What Williams presumably lauded as pure, non-Petrarchan style seemed, to me, a trite, slick jingle with the most commonplace diction. As a result, more than half of the poets in this book appeared lifeless and unimaginative, even if their poetry felt at times refreshing in its simplicity.

However, the triteness of the majority lends more approbation for the minority's greatness. The likes of Shakespeare, Spenser and Donne truly shone bright with their unique artistic brilliance, and other craftsmen such as Gascoigne, Sidney, Raleigh, Greville and Campion proved that an age of fixed custom could still yield an abundance of beauty. I was also particularly taken by the Madrigalists, whose rejuvenating lyrics had a great sense for the magical and awe-inspiring.

[Alana · Rating 2 out of 5]

i imagine if u ever want to trebuchet urself in the foot and read some english renaissance poetry this is probably the best compilation there is

[Danielle Hardy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this collection. I loved the progression through these poets of old. Dare I say John Donne was my favorite of the collection. I also thoroughly enjoyed the Madrigalists.

[D.A. Fellows · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5 stars. A good collection, and I’m grateful to archive.org for having something I could borrow. I didn’t realise how hard it would be to access some Victorian poetry!

[Samuel Hud Gardella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Farewell, all joys; O death, come close mine eyes;
More geese than swans now live, more fools than wise.

[Osman Kan · Rating 4 out of 5]

it is so helpfull for us ..

[Don Hackett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a lovely anthology of poetry that I was little familiar with; I knew a little "They flee from me, that sometime did me seek", some of Shakespeare's sonnets, and some John Donne. I had heard some other names, but not George Gascoigne, George Turberville, or Fulke Greville. I decided to read it through, and had a lot of trouble at the beginning understanding what was said; with a lot of rereading the poems started to speak to me. This is a large and long anthology, but I ended thinking there was not a bad poem in it, and many that touched me.