With close reference to at least three appropriate poems, discuss and illustrate the different ways language is used in Tudor and Elizabethan love poetry.

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With close reference to at least three appropriate poems, discuss and illustrate the different ways language is used in Tudor and Elizabethan love poetry.

This period in history, which was approximately between the years of 1540 and 1600, saw an explosion of literature, particularly in the genres of drama and poetry. Shakespeare, the dominant and most famous writer of this period, is regarded by many as the greatest ever writer in the English language. Although the period is recognised for its great dramatic works, poetry experienced a certain renaissance. This provided an outlet for the fantastic growth of the language as a whole.

The Elizabethans, much like their society, favoured structure, order and decoration. Indeed as Puttnam put it in his “The Art of Poesy”, “Our vulgar poesy cannot show itself either gallant or gorgeous if anything be left naked and bare.” As well as describing the then reigning monarch’s dress sense, this provides an important insight into how the Elizabethans saw themselves as poets.

This attitude is certainly in agreement with the Elizabethan fervour for the sonnet. A precise structure is adhered to. It was Shakespeare who was the leading exponent of the form writing 154 of them. As with the majority of other Elizabethan poetry, the poetic efforts were centred primarily on the sentiments and expressions of life. Since the response is focused on Tudor and Elizabethan love poetry, the Shakespearian sonnets numbers 116 and 130 are worthy of examination.

Shakespeare’s 116th sonnet examines the love of “true minds”. As is typical of the Elizabethan and more specifically the Shakespearian sonnet, the imagery is intricate and Shakespeare makes use of the conceited metaphor. Love is compared to a guiding star, steering ships to safety. This continued comparison is quite unlike the typical metaphors associated with love and therefore seems thoughtful and authentic. The innovation exhibited here is characteristic of the sonnets of Shakespeare.

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Though we have some ideas as to whom Shakespeare aimed his sonnets, the avoidance of gender-specific pronouns give the piece a universality. This renders the poem relevant to a wide audience and so we can deduce that though there may have been a specific audience, the implied audience is much wider, and it is understood that Shakespeare circulated his sonnets, prior to their eventual publishing.

All of the poems here are understandably of a literary tradition, and as I will describe, the sonnet is an accepted literary poetic form, which originated in Italy. Therefore, the absence of ...

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