Elizabethan/Jacobean PoetsFavoring lyric poetry over the narrative poetry of their predecessors, Elizabethan poets perfected the sonnet and began experimenting with other poetic forms. The sonnet cycle, a series of sonnets that fit together to form a story, was very popular. Sir Philip Sidney and Edmund Spenser both used this form. Shakespeare brought the Elizabethan sonnet to new heights.
During the same period, Christopher Marlowe and Sir Walter Raleigh wrote pastoral poetry. Pastoral poetry idealizes the rustic simplicity of rural life. Jacobean literature, written during the reign of James I, was darker than Elizabethan literature. Some of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies were written during this period. Many poets questioned the stability of the social order and worried about forces of evil. |
Key Poets and Their WorksEssential Questions
Edmund Spenser Sir Philip Sidney Christopher Marlowe
Sir Walter Raleigh John Donne
Character Valentine's Day Cards Ben Jonson Robert Herrick Sir John Suckling Richard Lovelace Test Review |