The Sonnet

The Sonnet provides a comprehensive study of one of the oldest and most popular forms of poetry, widely used by Shakespeare, Milton, and Wordsworth, and still used centuries later by poets such as Seamus Heaney, Tony Harrison, and Carol Ann Duffy. This book traces the development of the sonnet from its origins in medieval Italy to its widespread acceptance in modern Britain, Ireland, and America. It shows how the sonnet emerges from the aristocratic courtly centers of Renaissance Europe and gradually becomes the chosen form of radical political poets such as Milton. The book draws on detailed critical analysis of some of the best-known sonnets written in English to explain how the sonnet functions as a poetic form, and it argues that the flexibility and versatility of the sonnet have given it a special place in literary history and tradition. Cover THE SONNET Copyright Dedication Acknowledgements Contents Introduction The form of the sonnet The origins of the sonnet The politics of the sonnet 1: The Renaissance sonnet Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey Sir Philip Sidney Edmund Spenser William Shakespeare John Donne, George Herbert, William Drummond, and Lady Mary Wroth John Milton 2: The Romantic sonnet Anna Seward, Charlotte Smith, and Helen Maria Williams William Bowles and Samuel Taylor Coleridge William Wordsworth Percy Bysshe Shelley John Keats John Clare 3: The Victorian sonnet Alfred Tennyson and Robert Browning Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Christina Rossetti, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti Matthew Arnold George Meredith Gerard Manley Hopkins 4: The Irish sonnet W. B. Yeats Patrick Kavanagh Seamus Heaney Paul Muldoon Ciaran Carson Michael Longley and Eavan Boland 5: The American sonnet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Jones Very, William Cullen Bryant, and John Greenleaf Whittier Emma Lazarus, Frederick Goddard Tuckerman, and Trumbell Stickney Edwin Arlington Robinson Robert Frost T. S. Eliot, E. E. Cummings, and Wallace Stevens Paul Laurence Dunbar, Countee Cullen, Claude McKay, and Gwendolyn Brooks Edna St Vincent Millay, Elizabeth Bishop, and Anne Stevenson John Berryman, Robert Lowell, and Sylvia Plath Ted Berrigan and James Merrill Marilyn Hacker, Rita Dove, and Shane McCrae 6: The modern sonnet Rupert Brooke Charles Sorley and Siegfried Sassoon Wilfred Owen, Edmund Blunden, and Ivor Gurney W. H. Auden Philip Larkin, Elizabeth Jennings, and Geoffrey Hill Tony Harrison Douglas Dunn, Edwin Morgan, and Kathleen Jamie Andrew McNeillie, Don Paterson, and Carol Ann Duffy Wendy Cope and Eleanor Brown Ken Edwards, Tony Lopez, and Robert Hampson Andrew Motion and Alice Oswald Epilogue: The sonnet and its travels Bibliography Sonnet anthologies Critical studies of the sonnet Primary sources Secondary sources Index The Sonnet Provides A Comprehensive Study Of One Of The Oldest And Most Popular Forms Of Poetry, Widely Used By Shakespeare, Milton And Wordsworth, And Still Used Today By Poets Such As Seamus Heaney, Tony Harrison And Carol Ann Duffy. This Book Traces The Development Of The Sonnet From Its Origins In Medieval Italy To Its Widespread Acceptance In Modern Britain, Ireland And America. It Shows How The Sonnet Emerges From The Aristocratic Courtly Centres Of Renaissance Europe And Gradually Becomes The Chosen Form Of Radical Political Poets Such As Milton. The Book Draws On Detailed Critical Analysis Of Some Of The Best-known Sonnets Written In English To Explain How The Sonnet Functions As A Poetic Form, And It Argues That The Flexibility And Versatility Of The Sonnet Have Given It A Special Place In Literary History And Tradition. Stephen Regan. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 403-417) And Index. The Sonnet provides a comprehensive study of one of the oldest and most popular forms of poetry, widely used by Shakespeare, Milton, and Wordsworth, and still used centuries later by poets such as Seamus Heaney, Tony Harrison, and Carol Ann Duffy. This book traces the development of the sonnet from its origins in medieval Italy to its widespread acceptance in modern Britain, Ireland, and America. It shows how the sonnet emerges from the aristocratic courtly centres of Renaissance Europe and gradually becomes the chosen form of radical political poets such as Milton. The book draws on detailed critical analysis of some of the best-known sonnets written in English to explain how the sonnet functions as a poetic form, and it argues that the flexibility and versatility of the sonnet have given it a special place in literary history and tradition. The Sonnet provides a comprehensive study of one of the oldest and most popular forms of poetry, widely used by Shakespeare, Milton, and Wordsworth, and still used today by poets such as Seamus Heaney, Tony Harrison, and Carol Ann Duffy. This book combines a broad historical overview of the sonnet with detailed critical analysis to show how the sonnet has achieved its special status and popularity among poets in Britain, Ireland, and America. Provides a study of one of the oldest and most popular forms of poetry - the sonnet. This book combines a historical overview of the sonnet with detailed analysis to show how the sonnet has achieved its special status and popularity among poets in Britain, Ireland, and America.