English Literature

  SHAKESPEARE & HIS SONNETS William Shakespeare was born at Stratford-On-Avon on 25 April 1564. He died on 23 April 1616. He is an eminent poet and playwright of the Renaissance in England. His poems are Venus and Adonis (1593), The Rape of Lucrece (1594), The Phoenix and the Turtle (1601) and the Sonnets (1593-1603). The sonnets of William Shakespeare were published in the Quarto edition of Shakespeare’s Works in 1609 by Thomas Thorpe. They are dedicated to Mr. W.H. It is he who is considered to be the begetter of Shakespearean sonnets. A controversy exists about the identity of Mr. W.H. Perhaps he is William Herbert, the eldest son of the second Earl of Prembroke. In 1601 he became the third Earl of Prembroke. Shakespeare has composed 154 sonnets. These sonnets form two groups. The first group (1 to 126) is addressed to a smart young man and the second group (127 to 154) to a dark lady. The young man appears as a lovely boy. His social position is very high. He is urged...

Chaucer, the father of English poetry, is called the first great English humourist. The current of good humour flows in all his poetry. It has great variety. It is subtle, sly, spontaneous, natural, paradoxical and commonplace. No other writer of his age equals him in this field. He is highly praised for his fantastic humour. In this respect he is compared with Shakespeare and Dickens. Chaucer's humour is based on his deep insight and sympathetic attitude. His laughter is never the laughter of contempt. It is because this great poet has no scorn for idiots. He has no strong feeling of distaste for rascals. It is the laughter that springs from the frailties and foibles of mankind. The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales is full of humour and the laughter echoes on all sides. It is the result of the poet's keen observation of everyday life. Sometimes negligible becomes significant for the poet. The insignificant things like the Squire's coat, the Wife of Bath's hat, th...

Alfred was the greatest and noblest Anglo-Saxon king. He was the first Englishman who encouraged the making of English prose. No English king ever did more for his people than he. Alfred was born at Wantage in Berkshire in 849. His early years as a king were spent in fighting hard against Danes. Finally, he drove back Danes from England and established peace. He founded a monastery at Athelney. He was pioneer of popular education. It was Alfred who began the writing of prose in Wessex. First of all, he put the Vernacular to systematic use. During his reign the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle came into existence. It is the greatest monument of Old English prose. During Alfred’s reign the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle was transformed into a national history under his guidance. Alfred was a translator. He rendered into English Pastoral Care of Pope Gregory, Orosius, Bede’s The Ecclesiastical History, Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy and St. Augustine’s Soliloquies. His prose style is for the most ...

CYNEWULF Cynewulf is known as one of the greatest poets of the Anglo-Saxon period. He is in the line of succession from Caedmon. He was a Northumbrian. He lived at the close of eighth century. Only very little is known about his outward life. It is said that his youth was happy and irresponsible. He underwent suddenly a spiritual change and regretted the careless pleasures of his early years. His signed poems include The Christ, Juliana, The Fates of the Apostles, and Elene. His unsigned poems include Andreas, The Phoenix, The Dream of the Rood, The Descent into the Hell, Guthlac, and The Wanderer. Possibly he is the author of Judith too. His view of life finds fantastic expression in The Christ. The Dream of the Rood is considered to be the finest of all Old English religious poems.

CAEDMON Caedmon is one of the greatest Anglo- Saxon poets. He is known as the first maker of English verse. He was a simple and unlettered man. He was an employee in a monastery at Whitby in Yorkshire. He was inspired to sing about the beginning of created things. He became a monk. Though he was not able to read, The Bible was read to him. After that he turned those passages that appealed to him into verse. These stories in verse are known as Caedmon’s Paraphrases. These were written about A.D. 670. Due to his creative contribution, Caedmon became very famous because these poems were carried from monastery to monastery. It may be said that Caedmon founded a new school of religious poetry.