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The advent of relatively cheap editions in the mid-sixteenth century produced an explosion of verse, much of which represented the first person speaker as a version of the author. This book examines ways in which writers, often seeking advancement in their careers, harnessed verse for self-promotional purposes. Texts studied include a manuscript autobiography by Thomas Whythorne, printed verse by a woman, Isabella Whitney, travel and war narratives, as well as canonical texts by Spenser, Sidney and Shakespeare.
List of contents
Introduction 'To Mak My Self to be Known of Many': Miscellanies and the Well-Formed Gentleman The 'Outward Marks' and the 'Inward Man: Thomas Whythorne's Songs and Sonnets Narratives of Experience Spenser as Orpheus Passionate Ejaculations and the Poetics of Presence: Gascoigne's The Adventures of Master F.J. and Sidney's Astrophil and Stella 'My Name is Will': Shakespeare's Sonnets Bibliography
About the author
ELIZABETH HEALE is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of English at Reading University. She has published two books, The Faerie Queene. A Reader's Guide (2nd ed 1999) and Wyatt, Surrey and Early Tudor Poetry (1998), and numerous articles on sixteenth-century verse in print and manuscript.
Summary
The advent of relatively cheap editions in the mid-sixteenth century produced an explosion of verse, much of which represented the first person speaker as a version of the author. This book examines ways in which writers, often seeking advancement in their careers, harnessed verse for self-promotional purposes. Texts studied include a manuscript autobiography by Thomas Whythorne, printed verse by a woman, Isabella Whitney, travel and war narratives, as well as canonical texts by Spenser, Sidney and Shakespeare.
Additional text
'Solidly researched and carefully prepared, this study will serve those interested in early modern literary production, history, and culture.' - C.S. Cox, Choice
Report
'Solidly researched and carefully prepared, this study will serve those interested in early modern literary production, history, and culture.' - C.S. Cox, Choice
