renaissance poetry pastoral poetry carpe diem sonnets

RENAISSANCE POETRY

PASTORAL POETRY CARPE DIEM SONNETS

PASTORAL POETRY

Set in an idealized countryside Inhabited by handsome shepherds

and beautiful young women (nymphs)

All live in harmony with nature Characters are simple country folk,

yet they use sophisticated diction and imagery

PASTORAL POETRY: continued

Many express a longing or nostalgia for a simpler, more innocent time

Takes its name from the Latin pastor meaning “shepherd”

Depict country life in idyllic, idealized terms

Characters are naïve and innocent yet express themselves with poetic sophistication


Christopher Marlowe (1564 – 1593) Contemporary of William Shakespeare His most famous play: The Tragicall

History of Dr. Faustus, which is about a man who makes a deal with the devil.

Our book tells us that Marlowe’s heroes want to be more than mere men, and only death can put an end to their grand ambitions

Marlowe is believed to have died in a bar fight about the amount of a bill (258)

“The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” by Christopher

Marlowe (pg. 259)

Come live with me, and be my love,And we will all the pleasures prove

That valleys, groves, hills, and fields,Woods, or steepy mountains yields.

And we will sit upon the rocks,Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks

By shallow rivers, to whose fallsMelodious birds sing madrigals.

And I will make thee beds of roses,And a thousand fragrant posies,

A cap of flowers, and a kirtle,Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle.

A gown made of the finest woolWhich from our pretty lambs we pull,

Fair linèd slippers for the cold,With buckles of the purest gold.

A belt of straw and ivy buds,With coral clasps and amber studs,

And if these pleasures may thee move,Come live with me, and be my love.

The shepherd swains shall dance and singFor thy delight each May morning.

If these delights thy mind may move,Then live with me, and be my love.

CLASSWORK GRADE

Write a letter back to the shepherd answering his request: do you accept his offer? Yes or no and

why. . .


Sir Walter Raleigh (c. 1552 – 1618) Served as Queen Elizabeth I’s confidential

secretary and captain of the guard Devoted to colonizing the Americas Charged with treason (not true) against King

James in 1603 Executed in 1618 Lived in Tower of London until execution Did not think of himself as a writer; only 35 of

his poems have survived (260) Wrote a reply to C. Marlowe’s pastoral poem

from: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.historyinfocus-london.co.uk/images/125%2520-%2520195-8dc.%2520Tower%2520of%2520London%2520-%2520Bloody%2520Tower%2520-%2520View%25203.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.historyinfocus-london.co.uk/pages/125%2520-%2520195dc.%2520Tower%2520of%2520London%2520-%2520Part%25202.htm&h=450&w=338&sz=51&tbnid=i3mmtJ950FFh5M:&tbnh=124&tbnw=93&hl=en&start=6&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dtower%2Bof%2Blondon%2Bsir%2Bwalter%2Braleigh%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DG

125 / 195-7dc. Tower of London - Brick Tower - and Sir Walter Raleigh.

Sir Walter Raleigh

Adventurer - explorer - parliamentarian - author and poet - Raleigh was the man who according to legend laid his cloak over a puddle so that Queen Elizabeth 1st. would not muddy her feet. He also introduced potatoes and tobacco into Britain from the ‘New World’, now known as North America. So why was Sir Walter Raleigh imprisoned in the Tower of London. And, not just once but on three separate occasions.

First time: Early on in his career Raleigh happened to be the favourite of Queen Elizabeth 1st. That is until in 1592 when she discovered he was secretly married to her maid-of-honour Elizabeth Throckmorton, whereupon she flew into a jealous rage and sent him to the Tower of London. Although he was later released, he was for ever more banished from the Royal Court. As for where he was imprisoned exactly, no-one really knows, although it is thought that the Brick Tower above is a likely candidate….


....Second time: Raleigh, although admired by many, nevertheless, was not without his enemies who in 1603 persuaded James 1st that he was suspected of opposing the King’s succession to the throne. And although not sentenced to death for treason, Raleigh was nevertheless arrested and sent to the Tower of London yet again. On this occasion, however, he was definitely kept here in the Bloody Tower. And an extra floor was added so that his family, who wanted to be with him, could also be accommodated….


On the first floor of the Bloody Tower, seen here, is Raleigh's private chamber in which you can see the writing desk where he wrote the 'History of the World'. Although it appears he did'nt get very far, as he only reached the second Macedonian War in 130 BC....

“The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd” by Sir Walter

Raleigh (pg. 261)

If all the world and love were young, And truth in every shepherd’s tongue,These pretty pleasures might me move

To live with thee and be thy love.

But Time drives flocks from field to fold,When rivers rage and rocks grow cold,

And Philomel becometh dumb;The rest complains of cares to come.

The flowers do fade, and wanton fields To wayward winter reckoning yields;

A honey tongue, a heart of gallIs fancy’s spring, but sorrow’s fall.

Thy gowns, thy shoes, thy beds of roses,Thy cap, thy kirtle, and thy posies.

Soon break, soon wither, soon forgotten,In folly ripe, in reason rotten.

Thy belt of straw and ivy buds,Thy coral clasps and amber studs,

All these in me no means can moveTo come to thee an be thy love.

But could youth last and love still breed,Had joys no date, nor age no need,

Then these delights my mind might moveTo live with thee and be thy love.

CARPE DIEM

Literally means “seize the day” Literary theme that urges living

and loving in the present moment, since life and earthly pleasures cannot last (263)

“To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time”

by Robert Herrick (pg. 265)

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,Old Time is still a-flying;

And this same flower that smiles today,Tomorrow will be dying.

The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun,The higher he’s a-getting,

The sooner will his race be run,And nearer he’s to setting.

That age is best which is the first,When youth and blood are warmer;

But being spent, the worse, and worstTimes still succeed the former.

Then be not coy, but use your time;And while ye may, go marry:

For having lost but once your prime,You may forever tarry.

“To His Coy Mistress”by Andrew Marvell (pg. 267-

68)

Had we but world enough, and time,This coyness, Lady, were no crime.We would sit down, and think which wayThou by the Indian Ganges’ sideShouldst rubies find; I by the tideOf Humber would complain. I would Love you ten years before the Flood,And you should, if you please, refuseTill the conversion of the Jews,My vegetable love should growVaster than empires and more slow;

An hundred years should go to praiseThine eyes, and on thy forehead gaze;Two hundred to adore each breast,But thirty thousand to the rest;An age at least to every part,And the last age should show your heart.For. Lady, you deserve this state,Nor would I love at lower rate.

But at my back I always hearTime’s wingèd chariot hurrying near;And yonder all before us lieDeserts of vast eternity.Thy beauty shall no more be found, Nor, in thy marble vault, shall soundMy echoing song; then worms shall tryThat long-preserved virginityAnd your quaint honor turn to dust,And into ashes all my lust:The grave’s a fine and private placeBut none, I think, do there embrace.

Now therefore while the youthful hueSits on thy like morning dew,And while thy willing soul transpiresAt every pore with instant fires,Now let us sport us while we may,And now, like amorous birds of prey,Rather at once our time devour Than languish in his slow-chapped power.

Let us roll all our strength and allOur sweetness up into one ball,And tear our pleasures with rough

strifeThrough the iron gates of life;Thus, though we cannot make our sunStand still, yet we will make him run.

SONNETS A 14 lined lyric poem Conforms to a specific rhyme scheme You are responsible for knowing three

types of sonnets: 1. Spenserian sonnet 2. Petrarchan sonnet 3. Shakespearean sonnet

Spenserian sonnet: taken from: Literature: timeless voices, timeless themes

Named for the poet Edmund Spenser (1552 – 1599)

Born into a working-class family, but later became one of the few poets who depended on his writing money for his lively hood.

He is most famous for his sonnet sequence called Amoretti, which is addressed to his own wife.

He dedicated The Faerie Queene to Elizabeth I. Sonnet sequence: a group of sonnets linked by

theme or subject. (206 – 07)

SPENSERIAN SONNET: continuedTAKEN FROM: LITERATURE: TIMELESS VOICES, TUIMELESS THEMES

Rhyme scheme ababbcbc cdcdee The sonnet is divided into two sections:

the octave and the sestet “The octave raises a question or

presents a situation and the sestet gives a response.”

SONNET 75BY EDMUND SPENSER

One day I wrote her name upon the strand,But came the waves and washèd it away:Again I wrote it with a second hand,But came the tide, and made my pains his prey.“Vain man,” said she, “that dost in vain assay,A mortal thing so to immortalize,For I myself shall like to this decay,And eek my name be wipèd out likewise.”“Not so,” quod I, “let baser things devise.To die in dust, but you shall live by fame:

SONNET 75: continued

My verse your virtues rare shall eternize,And in the heavens write your glorious

name.Where whenas shall all the world subdue,Our love shall live, and later life renew.”

SIR PHILIP SIDNEY: ANOTHER SONNETEER

TAKEN FROM: LITERATURE: TIMELESS VOICES, TIMELESS THEMES

Sir Philip Sidney: (1554 – 1586) Famous for his sonnet sequence

Astrophel and Stella, which was “inspired by Penelope Devereux- Stella – to whom Sir Philip- Astrophel –had been engaged.” She later married someone else.

Sir philip sidney: died at age 32during a military engagement. (206)Taken from: Literature: timeless voices, timeless themes

The funeral procession of Sir Philip Sidney, February 1587. An illustration from the contemporary Westminster Tournament Roll.

Sonnet 39by sir philip sindney

Come sleep, O sleep, the certain knot of peaceThe baiting place of wit, the balm of woe,The poor man’s wealth, the prisoner’s release,The indifferent judge between the high and low;With shield of proof shield me from out the preaseO make in me those civil wars to cease;I will good tribute pay, if thou do so.Take thou of me smooth pillows, sweetest bed,A chamber deaf to noise, and blind to light,

Sonnet 39: continued

A rose garland, and a weary head:And if these things, as being thine by

right,Move not thy heavy grace, thou shalt in

me,Livelier than elsewhere, Stella’s image

see.

Petrarchan sonnet Also called the Italian sonnet Rhyme scheme abbaabba ccdeed Divided into two parts the octave and the sestet The volta is the transition or turn of the

sonnet usually found in the ninth line (276)

Shakespearean sonnet Also called Elizabethan sonnet or English sonnet Rhyme scheme

abab cdcd efef gg This kind of sonnet is divided into four parts

three quatrains and one couplet which is indented

The quatrains (4 lines) express related ideas The couplet (2 lines) sums up the poet’s message This sonnet also has a volta Many of Shakespeare’s sonnets are sad because

of “unrequited love” (276 – 78)

Open your text to page 279 in order to read some Shakespearean sonnets:

renaissance poetry pastoral poetry carpe diem sonnets

Documents

tower of london

marlowes pastoral poem

pastoral poetry set

continued sir walter

brick tower

poetic sophistication

poet raleigh

continued christopher