The contemporary status and function of the Elizabethan sonnet

Abstract

This study attempts to present Elizabethan views upon the sonnet, both as a literary form and as a poem of society, and following from this, the uses to which it was adapted. Chapter One examines contemporary definitions of the "sonnet", to determine the breadth of meaning which the term had for the Elizabethans, and to establish the literary and social over-tones important to the following chapters. Chapters Two to Four discuss the literary aspects of the quatorzain. They describe the influence of Renaissance critical theory upon the Elizabethan attitudes to the stanza, and seek to show that the enthusiasm for and later revolsion against the poem resulted firstly from the importance of Petrarchanism in establishing a modern vernacular literature, and secondly from the consequent rejection of this when the task was completed. Within this framework attention is drawn to the importance of the theoretical criticism of the classicists (Chapter Two), and the influence of practical criticism of the sonneteers and their artistry upon writers and readers (Chapters Three and Four). The two following chapters examine the reaction of Elizabethan society to the Petrarchan sonnet, Chapter Five stressing its relevance for the courtier class, and seeking to indicate those points which gained favour or opprobium for the verse; Chapter Six describing the factors which probably influenced religious opinions on the quatorzain, and those which played a part in the later conversion of the sonnet to devotional use. The remainder of this thesis attempts chiefly to illustrate that the Elizabethans found the flexibility of the Petrarchan sonnet suitable for conveying feelings both public and private. The seventh chapter studies the role of the stanza in Petrarchan love in literature and life, examining its dual functions as a personal and generalized poem; whilst Chapter Eight considers the quatorzain as a poem of compliment and abuse in sixteenth-century society, dependent in each instance upon Petrarchan expression. Chapter Nine examines in particular the religious sonnet, emphasizing the influence of Petrarchanism upon the language of devotion, but also discussing the moralistic quatorzain briefly. Chapter Ten explores the relationship of the sonnet and music in literature and in actual settings, illustrating some points of musical treatment. The Conclusion endeavours to bring together the main points of this study, to clarify the Elizabethan conception and understanding of the quatorzain.