Histoiry of english Poetry

History of English Poetry

1st poems originaly = not in english but in gaelic
Poetry was mostly spoken (oral)
Told at the court of the King

The Epic :
- inspiration of a nation
- tells the story of a generation
- they fight monsters ans win at the end

ex : BEOWULF (C8th)
Hero wins in his fight and died after killing a dragon --> fantasy

about courage,adventures, quest ...
Religion was based on the old testament = full of violence

Poetry reflects the time where it's written

Very close to legends --> not realistic

C14st = Next great english poets

Geoffrey CHAUCER (1386-1400)
    "Canterbury Tales"
story spelling competition -> Pilgrim (influenced by Italien's)
each charaster had a different idea about life
    "The Wife Of Bath"
She had 5 husbands (old and rich)

RENAISSANCE

time of change
lot of poetry
rediscovery Greek & Latin poets
Started Italy, then France, then Britain (p15)

Edmund SPENCER (1552-1599)
"The Faerie Queene"
About Queen Elizabeth Ist
Allegory
Glorification of protestantism & Elizabeth Ist
Mediaval athmosphere

Social changes
Litterature is nostalgic toward the past

Devellopment of more forms of poetry : sonnets, madigral, ballad

Middle Age : Men believed completely in God (everything is organised)
Renaissance : they began to think by themselves -> more debats, tensions ...

Shakespeare = drama, sonnets, poems
Queen Elizabeth Ist
Mr W.H. (dedicaced to by Shakespeare)
Sonnets adress to a young man
Did W.H. pay for sonnets ? or was he the young man ?

C17th

Discoveries time : Galileo, Newton, Pascal
Physical universe, develop theories, sciences ...
Earth is not the center of universe anymore
Belivied more and more in their power ==> they understood the world

Metaphysical poets --> God
Poetry with great believed in God and religion and very intellectual, analyse of things (images and methaphores)

John MILTON (p42)
Revolution time -> Cromwell
Supporter of Cromwell -> revolution in GB against monarchy
He used his capacity to speak to defend his ideas/revolution => important
- After revolution, Cromwell was no longer respected
- For poets , Milton was remembered as a perfect exemple of a great poet and politician
he became blind at the end of his life " Milton read himself blind"
"Paradise Lost" Masterpiece (1667)
-> an epic poem about paradise = the fall of an angel into hell, the fall of Satan, the creation of Adam and Eve
the most importing personn in the poem is Satan
Milton was puritan -> that's strange
Satan : "Beter reign in hell, than serve in heaven"
Milton was influenced by latin
A miltonic inversion = as putting adjectiv after a noun

John DRYDEN
wrote satyre
translated latin
in favor of the king (not as Milton)
1st poet Laureat = 1668  (< Laurels = Laurier)
=> Appolo, the God of poetry & of medecine, had decide that all poems would have a price
C17th : King of Britain decided to have a poet for himself
-> poet paid by british monarchy, for the king/queen

Andrew MOTION (nowadays)
poet Laureat
contreversial figure in England
poetry can be active
published in the Guardian "Causa Belli" = reason for war -> cf to GW Bush against Irak

C18th

time of the rise of Novels
mostly ideas, intellect, reason... -> organized
typical poem = focus on man = social creature
development of sciences -> interesting of nature

Alexander POPE (p60)
rime 2 by 2
rhytms with pause in the middle
-> impression of order, balance
The heroic couplet : rimed pantameters (= 5 feet in a  line = 10 syllables) working in pair
"But-oh ! Ye Lords of Ladies intellectual
Inform us truly ; have they not hen-pecked you all" Lord Byron, Don Juan
--> you men who had married intellectual women, she'll be a problem
extra rich rhyme
association between 2 lines thanks to the rhythm

Late C18th (p 56)
toward the end of century = change
sensibility = beautiful make me cry
emotion and feeling -> C19th
--> graveyard poetry -> affaid of death

2 movements =
    - From Scotland : Robert Burns = son of a farmer
wrote in scotish dialect
* 1st time that a farmer write