| Concept | Details |
|---|---|
| Work Importance | Most comprehensive Elizabethan treatise on English poetry • Published 1589 (possibly co-authored with brother Richard) • Three books: Of Poets and Poesy, Of Proportion, Of Ornament • Systematic analysis of English verse forms, meters, figures of speech |
| Defense of English | English language capable of great poetry • Defends vernacular against Latin/Greek dominance • English poets can equal classical poets • Establishes English poetic tradition as legitimate |
| The Poet as "Maker" | Poet = creator, craftsman • Emphasizes art and skill over divine inspiration • Poet shapes language through conscious craft • Practical, technical approach (vs. Sidney's idealistic) |
| Decorum (Propriety) | Central principle: appropriateness in all things • Style must fit subject, character, occasion • Three levels of style: High, Middle, Low - High: Epic, tragedy (kings, heroes) - Middle: Comedy, pastoral (gentlemen) - Low: Farce, satire (common people) Similar to Horace's decorum |
| Figures of Speech | Extensive catalogue of rhetorical figures • Book III: "Of Ornament" - detailed analysis • Figures = ornaments that beautify speech • Examples: Metaphor, Allegory, Irony, Hyperbole, etc. • Most comprehensive English rhetoric guide of its time |
| Queen's English | "The usual speech of the Court" • London/Court dialect as standard for poetry • Rejects provincial dialects • Establishes linguistic standard |
| Poetry as Courtly Art | Poetry for educated, courtly audience • Aristocratic, refined art form • Poet serves court and monarch • Poetry as social accomplishment |
| Concept | Details |
|---|---|
| Work Context | Preface to English translation of Ariosto's Orlando Furioso • Translation published 1591 • Defense of poetry, especially romance and allegory • Responds to Puritan attacks on poetry |
| Defense of Romance | Romance is valuable, moral literature • Defends fantastic/marvelous elements • Romance teaches virtue through allegory • Answers charges that romances are frivolous lies |
| Allegory as Defense | Poetry contains hidden moral/allegorical meaning • Surface story = entertainment • Hidden meaning = moral instruction • Triple interpretation: Historical, Moral, Allegorical • Similar to medieval fourfold interpretation |
| Poetry vs. History | Poetry superior to history • History: what happened (particular) • Poetry: what should happen (universal) • Echoes Aristotle and Sidney |
| Moral Purpose | Poetry teaches virtue, condemns vice • "Dulce et Utile" - delight and instruct • Sugar-coated medicine: pleasure conveys moral truth • Responds to Puritan charges of immorality |
| Concept | Details |
|---|---|
| Work Importance | Comparative Discourse of Our English Poets with the Greek, Latin, and Italian Poets • Published 1598 • MAJOR SOURCE for dating Shakespeare's works and career • First critical assessment comparing English to Classical poets |
| English = Classical | English poets equal to classical masters • Systematic comparisons: - Chaucer = English Homer - Spenser = English Virgil - Shakespeare = English Ovid/Plautus • Establishes English literary canon and parity with classics |
| Shakespeare Evidence | First extensive mention of Shakespeare's works • Lists 12 plays by Shakespeare (by 1598) • Mentions sonnets circulating "among his private friends" • KEY EVIDENCE for Shakespeare chronology and authorship • Praises Shakespeare: "mellifluous & honey-tongued" |
| English Poets Catalogue | Comprehensive list of contemporary English poets • Names over 100 English writers • Categorizes by genre: lyric, tragedy, comedy, pastoral, etc. • Documentary value for literary history |
| Critical Method | Comparative/analogical approach • Matches English to Classical writers by genre/quality • Values English vernacular tradition • Nationalistic pride in English achievement |
| Concept | Details |
|---|---|
| Observations in the Art of English Poesy (1602) | Attack on rhyme, defense of classical meters • Argues for quantitative verse (based on syllable length) • Wants English to adopt Latin/Greek prosody • Rhyme = barbarous, Gothic, crude ornament |
| Rhyme is Primitive | Rhyme came from barbarous (medieval) times • Classical poetry had NO rhyme • Rhyme = easy, superficial device • True poetry based on quantity (long/short syllables) |
| Classical Superiority | Greek/Latin verse superior to English rhyme • Ancient meters more sophisticated • English should imitate classical models • Quantitative verse more musical, varied |
| Irony | Campion himself was EXCELLENT lyric poet who wrote beautiful RHYMED verse! • Theory vs. practice contradiction • His songs use rhyme effectively |
| Concept | Details |
|---|---|
| A Defence of Ryme (1603) | Response to Campion, defense of English rhymed verse • Most important defense of rhyme in English criticism • Published 1603 (one year after Campion's attack) • Articulate, reasoned argument |
| Custom & Tradition | English has its own prosodic tradition • Rhyme natural to English (stress-based language) • Don't blindly imitate classics • "Custom that is before all Law, Nature that is above all Art" • Each language has appropriate form |
| Rhyme NOT Barbarous | Rhyme sophisticated, beautiful device • Creates harmony, pleasure, memorability • Italian, French, Spanish all use rhyme successfully • Medieval rhyme NOT primitive - refined art |
| Quantitative Verse Unnatural | English NOT suited to quantitative meters • English = stress-based (accent), NOT length-based • Forcing Latin meters on English = artificial • Language determines appropriate form |
| Anti-Pedantry | Rejects slavish imitation of ancients • Moderns can create own forms • Don't worship classical authority blindly • English poetry valid on own terms |
| Famous Quote | "All our understandings are not to be built by the square of Greece and Italy" • English need not conform to classical/continental models • Cultural/linguistic independence |
| Outcome | DANIEL WON THE DEBATE • English poetry continued with rhyme and accentual meters • Quantitative experiments abandoned • Established English prosodic independence |
| Concept | Details |
|---|---|
| Work Nature | Collection of critical observations, commonplace book • Published posthumously 1641 • Random notes, aphorisms, translations, original observations • NOT systematic treatise • Eclectic: borrows from Horace, Seneca, Quintilian, etc. |
| Neoclassical Standards | Emphasizes rules, learning, classical models • Art requires knowledge of ancients • Follow classical precedents • Most neoclassical of Elizabethan/Jacobean critics • Foreshadows Restoration neoclassicism |
| Art + Nature | Both art (learning/craft) and nature (talent) required • "Without Art, Nature can ne'er be perfect; and without Nature, Art can claim no being" • Balance of inspiration and technique • Similar to Horace's Ars + Ingenium |
| Imitation of Models | Study and imitate the best writers • NOT slavish copying, but learning principles • Digest models, make them your own • "Conversion" not mere translation |
| On Shakespeare | Mixed assessment: admires but criticizes excess • "I loved the man, and do honour his memory (on this side idolatry) as much as any" • BUT: Shakespeare needed more revision/discipline • "He flow'd with that facility, that sometimes it was necessary he should be stop'd" • Too much facility = carelessness • Shakespeare lacked classical learning (contrast with Jonson's own erudition) |
| Plain Style | Prefers clear, unaffected language • Rejects excessive ornament, obscurity • "Words above action; matter above words" • Clarity and judgment valued |
| The Poet as Scholar | Poet must be learned, well-read • Study philosophy, history, languages • Wide reading in classics essential • Poet = scholar-craftsman (NOT merely inspired) |
| Literary Language | "Pure and neat Language I love, yet plain and customary" • Avoid archaisms (criticism of Spenser's archaic diction) • Use contemporary, standard language • Purity without affectation |
| Work | Key Points |
|---|---|
| Prologue to Every Man in His Humour (1598) | • Criticizes romantic drama's violations of unities • Advocates classical rules • Realism over fantasy |
| Dedication of Volpone (1607) | • Defends moral purpose of comedy • Comedy should instruct as well as delight • Satirizes vice to reform audience |
| Conversations with Drummond (1619) | • Informal critical opinions recorded by William Drummond • Comments on contemporaries (Shakespeare, Donne, etc.) • Valuable source for Jonson's views on other writers |
| Concept | Details |
|---|---|
| Poetry as Feigned History | Poetry categorized under "Learning" • Part of systematic classification of knowledge • Three divisions: History (Memory), Poetry (Imagination), Philosophy (Reason) • Poetry = product of imagination, not bound by facts |
| Three Types of Poetry | 1. Narrative: Epic, romance 2. Dramatic: Plays, theatre 3. Parabolic (Allegorical): Contains hidden meanings Bacon most interested in parabolic/allegorical poetry |
| Poetry's Function | "Submits the shows of things to the desires of the mind" • Poetry improves upon nature/reality • Creates ideal, perfected world • Compensates for limitations of real world • Similar to Sidney's "golden world" |
| Limited Interest in Poetry | Bacon MORE interested in science/philosophy than poetry • Brief treatment compared to other learning • Values poetry but prioritizes empirical knowledge • Poetry = pleasant diversion, not ultimate truth |
| Parables & Myths | Ancient myths contain hidden wisdom • Allegorical interpretation reveals philosophical truths • De Sapientia Veterum (1609) - interprets classical myths • Example: Pan = Nature, Orpheus = Philosophy |
| Critic | Key Work | Main Contribution | Approach |
|---|---|---|---|
| George Puttenham | The Arte of English Poesie (1589) | Comprehensive guide to English poetry; Decorum; Figures of speech | Technical, practical |
| Sir John Harington | Preface to Orlando Furioso (1591) | Defense of romance; Allegorical interpretation | Moral, allegorical |
| Francis Meres | Palladis Tamia (1598) | English = Classical; Shakespeare evidence | Comparative, nationalistic |
| Thomas Campion | Observations (1602) | Attack on rhyme; Quantitative verse | Classical imitation |
| Samuel Daniel | Defence of Ryme (1603) | Defense of English rhyme; Custom/tradition | Vernacular independence |
| Ben Jonson | Timber (1641) | Neoclassical standards; Art + Nature; Shakespeare critique | Neoclassical, learned |
| Francis Bacon | Advancement of Learning (1605) | Poetry as Imagination; Parabolic poetry | Philosophical, systematic |
| Question Type | Key Facts |
|---|---|
| Puttenham's Three Books | Of Poets and Poesy / Of Proportion / Of Ornament |
| Queen's English | Puttenham: "usual speech of the Court" = London/Court dialect as standard |
| Harington's Triple Interpretation | Historical, Moral, Allegorical (defense of Orlando Furioso) |
| Meres's Shakespeare Evidence | Palladis Tamia (1598): Lists 12 plays, mentions sonnets, KEY SOURCE for chronology |
| Meres's Comparisons | Chaucer = English Homer; Spenser = English Virgil; Shakespeare = English Ovid |
| Rhyme Controversy Dates | Campion Observations (1602) attacks rhyme → Daniel Defence of Ryme (1603) responds |
| Campion's Position | FOR quantitative verse (classical meters), AGAINST rhyme (barbarous/Gothic) |
| Daniel's Position | FOR rhyme (natural to English), AGAINST quantitative (unnatural); Custom > Authority |
| Daniel Famous Quote | "All our understandings are not to be built by the square of Greece and Italy" |
| Who Won Rhyme Controversy? | DANIEL - English poetry continued with rhyme and accentual meters |
| Jonson on Shakespeare | "I loved the man...on this side idolatry"; "He flow'd with that facility...should be stop'd" |
| Jonson: Art + Nature | "Without Art, Nature can ne'er be perfect; and without Nature, Art can claim no being" |
| Jonson's Timber | Published POSTHUMOUSLY 1641; Commonplace book, NOT systematic treatise |
| Bacon's Three Divisions of Learning | History (Memory), Poetry (Imagination), Philosophy (Reason) |
| Bacon's Three Types of Poetry | Narrative, Dramatic, Parabolic (allegorical - most important to Bacon) |
| Most Neoclassical Critic | Ben Jonson (foreshadows Restoration neoclassicism) |
| Don't Confuse | Distinction |
|---|---|
| Puttenham vs. Sidney | Puttenham: Technical, practical guide (Arte of English Poesie) Sidney: Idealistic defense (Defence of Poesy) Both defend English poetry, different approaches |
| Harington vs. Meres | Harington: Defends romance/allegory (Orlando Furioso preface) Meres: Compares English to Classical poets (Palladis Tamia) |
| Campion vs. Daniel | Campion: AGAINST rhyme, FOR quantitative verse Daniel: FOR rhyme, AGAINST quantitative verse Daniel = winner of debate |
| Jonson's Timber vs. Sidney's Defence | Timber: Random notes, posthumous (1641), neoclassical Defence: Unified essay (1595), Renaissance humanist |
| Jonson vs. Shakespeare | Jonson: Classical learning, rules, revision Shakespeare: Natural facility, irregular, less learned Jonson admires Shakespeare but thinks he needed more discipline |
| Bacon's Poetry vs. Philosophy | Bacon VALUES poetry (Imagination creates ideal world) but prioritizes Philosophy/Science (Reason discovers truth) |
Elizabethan & Jacobean Criticism Complete
Puttenham | Harington | Meres | Campion vs. Daniel | Jonson | Bacon