The 16th century is also known as the English Renaissance period. The writers of this century took English poetry and drama to new heights. Beginning from Thomas Wyatt and Edmund Spenser to William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, and Christopher Marlowe belonged to this period. They experimented with classical forms and explored new fields.
Writers from the contemporary age as well as the previous periods sought inspiration from their works.
Shakespeare’s ‘Sonnet 18’ praises timeless beauty, rooted in virtues that endure beyond the fleeting beauty of the youth.
The 16th century was a period of great literary and cultural flourishing, marked by the rise of humanism and the revival of classical learning. 'Sonnet 18' reflects the 16th century's fascination with love, beauty, and the transience of human existence. Poetry was a key medium for expressing the era's ideas, values, and emotions, with writers like Shakespeare, Edmund Spenser, and John Donne producing works of great artistry and innovation.
Sonnet 73, ‘That time of year thou mayst in me behold’, explores love’s resilience in the face of human transience.
This sonnet was first published in the 1609 collection of Shakespeare's 154 sonnets. It echoes its time as it embodies the characteristic themes of Renaissance poetry, including love and transience. The sonnet is believed to have been written around the 1590s when Queen Elizabeth the First was aging and thus is also relevant to the political and dominant public issue of its times.
That time of year thou mayst in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
Sonnet 116: ‘Let me not to the marriage of true minds’ by William Shakespeare is easily one of the most recognizable sonnets of all time. It explores the nature of love and what “true love” is.
Written during the Elizabethan era, 'Sonnet 116' exemplifies the poetic form and thematic preoccupations of 16th-century English poetry. The sonnet reflects the Renaissance's focus on humanism, emotion, and philosophical contemplation.
Sonnet 138, ‘When my love swears that she is made of truth,’ explores the complex dynamics of love, deception, and trust in a relationship.
Inspired by the 14th-century Italian poet Petrarch, sonnets were famous during the late 16th century. Published in 1599, Shakespeare's sonnets resonated with the taste of its times as the Elizabethan court encouraged the form, and the poets dealt with the themes of love, romance, transience, sexuality, and beauty. Similarly, being in tandem with its times, Sonnet 138 delves into the dynamics of romance and love.
‘The Nightingale’ is a unique love-lyric that exploits the classical myth of Philomel to morph the personal rue of a lovelorn heart into a superb piece of poetry.
The poem is written in the Renaissance England (late 15th -early 17th) and it is one of the significant works of literature of that time. As it is remarked as the romantic period of the era of literature, the poem, from starting till the end chants the only mantra, that is of love.
‘Sonnet 55’ ‘Not marble nor the gilded monuments’ delves into poetry’s immortality and seeks to immortalize the addressee’s memories.
Like all the 154 sonnets, 'Sonnet 55' was written during the 1590s and first published in 1609. Elizabethan era, characterized by Renaissance ideas, greatly valued art and literature while love poetry and transience of life are typical subjects of Renaissance literature; this poem resonates with these ideas by promising the addressee immortality through the power of art, i.e., poetry here. Moreover, Queen Elizabeth was always cautious of her image and legacy, and during the 1590s, she was aging, and the concerns of her legacy were in the consciousness of artists (See, 'The Faerie Queen' by Edmund Spencer).
Shakespeare’s Sonnet 1, ‘From fairest creatures we desire increase,’ appeals to the Fair Youth to procreate and preserve his beauty.
Shakespeare's sonnets were first published in 1609 by Thomas Thorpe, but scholars have claimed that they were written during the 1590s when the sonnet form and love poetry were dominating. The sonnets gained critical reception in later centuries as they differed from their times' love poetry; instead of focusing on an ideal woman, Shakespeare's sonnets addressed a young man.
Edmund Spenser’s ‘Amoretti LXVII: Like as a Huntsman’ explores the pursuit of love and the unexpected rewards it brings.
Edmund Spenser's 'Amoretti LXVII: Like as a Huntsman' is a good representation of 16th-century poetry. It shares common themes of love, pursuit, and intricate imagery that were prevalent during the Elizabethan era. Compared to other poems of the same time period, it exhibits Spenser's distinct style characterized by elaborate metaphors, skillful employment of poetic techniques, and the use of sonnet form, making it a noteworthy contribution to 16th-century poetry.
In Shakespeare’s ‘Sonnet 106,’ ‘When in the chronicle of wasted time,’ the speaker exalts the Fair Youth’s beauty to quasi-divine status unmatched in history.
The 154 sonnets of Shakespeare were first published together in 1609 in a quarto, while they are believed to have been written during the 1590s, which is the period of the late Renaissance during the Elizabethan era. 'Sonnet 106', with its presentation of an idealized beauty that is present in human form (the Fair Youth), appreciation of ancient poets, and engagement with the themes of poetry's ability to translate beauty and the interconnection of art and immortality, resonates with the common thematic concerns of the late Renaissance and Elizabethan era literature.
‘Sonnet 107’ by William Shakespeare addresses how the speaker and the Fair Youth are going to be memorialized and outsmart death through the “poor rhyme” of poetry.
‘Sonnet 107’ captures the preoccupations of the 16th century, especially the tension between mortality and immortality, as well as political and astrological concerns. Lines like ‘The mortal moon hath her eclipse endur’d’ may reflect political uncertainty, possibly referencing Queen Elizabeth I. While the sonnet is a solid representation of 16th-century themes—such as art’s capacity to outlive its creator—it does not stand out as the pinnacle of Renaissance poetry.
Sonnet 12, ‘When I do count the clock that tells the time,’ explores the impact of time on beauty and the potential for immortality.
Published in 1609, Shakespeare's sonnets are believed to have been written during the 1590s. Although Shakespeare's sonnets are crucial now, they were not famous during his time. Unlike his contemporaries who idealized beautiful women, Shakespeare used the popular sonnet form to address the Fair Youth to meditate on temporality, mortality, sex, and more.
Shakespeare’s ‘Sonnet 14’ ‘Not from the stars do I my judgment pluck,’ prophesies the end of the fair youth’s truth and beauty if they don’t procreate.
Like other Shakespearean sonnets, 'Sonnet 14' was written during the 1590s and first published in 1609 with other sonnets. It delves into the themes of truth and beauty, yet does not idealize a beloved, usually a woman, like its contemporary sonnets. Nevertheless, its engagement with astrology and reference to events like the plague echo its time, as during the Elizabethan era, astronomy, stars, and heavenly bodies were significant, while the bubonic plague struck London many times during the 16th century.
Sonnet 29, ‘When, in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes’ by William Shakespeare explores emotions of self-doubt, envy, despair, and the power of love.
'Sonnet 29,' along with Shakespeare's other sonnets, is most likely to be written during the 1590s when the sonnet was most famous as a form of poetry. Notably, Shakespeare's sonnets were not popular during his time and gained critical reception from the 18th century; nonetheless, they are considered significant works of the 16th century, reflecting literary concerns of its time with timeless thematics.
The poem ‘When I Was Fair and Young’ by Queen Elizabeth I describes pride’s consequences, regret, and redemption through the intervention of love.
Many of the topics raised in the poem are characteristic of 16th-century poetry, like love and beauty and prologue to moral thoughts. Like other formal poems of the time, it fits into a certain style and uses the poet’s personal experiences. However, it represents the view of a female monarch; thus, the outlook on power relations and gender is an important addition to the play.
When I was fair and young, then favor graced me.
Of many was I sought their mistress for to be.
But I did scorn them all and answered them therefore:
Go, go, go, seek some other where; importune me no more.
‘Sonnet 3’ is a Procreation Sonnet addressing Fair Youth while emphasizing the significance of procreation.
'Sonnet 3' was likely written during the 1590s and published in Thomas Thorpe's collection of Shakespearean sonnets in 1609. It resonates with the Renaissance's preoccupation with human transience as society grappled with mortality and the passage of time amidst rapid cultural, scientific, and political changes. Moreover, this sonnet's urgency to procreate reflects societal expectations of marriage and family, which were central to the Elizabethan social order.
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