Poetry from Marlowe to Milton

Concentrating on the period between the end of the reign of Elizabeth I and the Restoration of Charles II, this module will allow you to develop detailed knowledge of a range of English poetry from the second half of the English Renaissance. You’ll acquire a critical understanding of the historical and cultural contexts which are relevant to the particular poems, and develop your close-reading abilities.

What does the module cover?

This module examines the poetry of the second half of the English Renaissance, including such major writers as Marlowe, Shakespeare, Donne, Jonson, Marvell, and Milton, and culminates in an extended study of Paradise Lost, the last great work of English Renaissance literature. Attention is given to the overall cultural context of English Renaissance humanism as well as to the political and religious conflicts generated by the Reformation.

Poets worked in a public as well as a private context and their poetry could be an intervention in the social conflicts of the period as well as a representation of them. Where appropriate, the poetry of the above-mentioned canonical authors is sometimes juxtaposed with pieces by less well known figures such as Aemilia Lanier, the first Englishwoman to publish her own poetry.

Key Topics

Renaissance humanism and English poetry
The Reformation and English poetry
Narrative and lyric poems from the late sixteenth century to Milton’s Paradise Lost
Close reading of passages from Paradise Lost, concentrating on Books 1-4 and 9-10