Elizabethan Poetry

The relative peace and prosperity of the Elizabethan age (1558-1603) fostered the growth of one of the most fruitful eras in literary history. Lyric poetry, prose, and drama flourished in sixteenth-century England in works that blended medieval traditions with Renaissance optimism.

This anthology celebrates the wit and imaginative creativity of the Elizabethan poets with a generous selection of their graceful and sophisticated verse. Highlights include sonnets from Astrophel and Stella, written by Sir Philip Sidney -- a scholar, poet, critic, courtier, diplomat, soldier, and ideal English Renaissance man; poems by Edmund Spenser, whose works combined romance with allegory, adventure, and morality; and sonnets by William Shakespeare, whose towering poetic genius transcends the ages. Other celebrated contributors include John Donne ("Go, and catch a fallen star"), Ben Jonson ("Drink to me only with thine eyes"), and Christopher Marlowe ("The Passionate Shepherd to His Love"). The poetry of lesser-known figures such as Michael Drayton, Samuel Daniel, and Fulke Greville appears here, along with verses by individuals better known in other fields -- Francis Bacon, Queen Elizabeth I, and Walter Raleigh -- whose poems offer valuable insights into the spirit of the age.