Elizabethan Lyrics: From the Original Texts

By Norman Ault

Book Overview

"Elizabethan Lyrics: From the Original Texts" is an extensive and scholarly anthology that captures the vibrant spirit and artistic excellence of the English Renaissance. This collection brings together a diverse array of poems from the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, meticulously curated to represent the full breadth of the Elizabethan era's lyrical achievement. The volume features works by iconic figures such as William Shakespeare, Edmund Spenser, and Philip Sidney, while also reviving numerous anonymous verses and works by lesser-known poets of the period.

The anthology explores a wide range of themes central to the Elizabethan consciousness, from the complexities of courtly love and pastoral idealism to reflections on mortality and the natural world. By sourcing poems directly from original manuscripts and early printed books, the work provides an authentic look at the linguistic and rhythmic innovations that defined the Golden Age of English literature.

This collection illustrates the evolution of the English sonnet, the madrigal, and the air, highlighting the period's unique intersection of music and verse. "Elizabethan Lyrics: From the Original Texts" serves as an essential resource for students of literature and a treasure trove for any reader interested in the profound cultural and artistic flourishing of the Tudor era.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you may see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.

This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.

As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1025627180
• ISBN13: 9781025627182
• Release Date: February 2026
• Publisher: Tradd Street Press
• Length: 562 Pages
• Weight: 2.12 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.2" x 1.3" x 6.1"

Customer Reviews

Passing melodious rondelays

This is an older anthology of lyric poetry covering the time from Thomas Wyatt to 1620, and as such is inlfuenced by the ideal that the Elizabethans were best when they were warbling. In other words, it's only a slice of their ; if you want a sense of the range of what Elizabethans wrote, you'd be better off with something like the Pengiun anthology of English Renaissance Poetry or _The New Oxford Book of Fifteenth Century Verse_.But oh what a slice it is. Ault includes generous selections from the song books. Most of the poems in this collection were written with the voice in mind, and opening this collection at random will give you (odds are) something that's lovely to recite. The older idea had something to it, for all that it limited the Elizabethan achievement -- and this collection shows this to perfection.