The title page of the 1651 continuation of Sir Philip Sidney's Arcadia, which is made available in facsimile in this volume, designates its author as 'Mris A. W.' It is now the convention to attribute the volume to Anna Weamys. Little is known about the author; the only other information about her is suggested by the substantial number of commendatory verses which precede the text. Though details about her and the specific motivations for continuing Sidney's work remain tantalisingly absen...

Sir Philip Sidney’s Arcadia has held a significant place in literary imagination since its inception over 430 years ago. Our four-volume set presents five re-imaginings of the text, as well as two short supplements that attempt to bridge the gap between Sidney’s original and revised versions of the work.

Sir Philip Sidney’s Arcadia has held a significant place in literary imagination since its inception over 430 years ago. Our four-volume set presents five re-imaginings of the text, as well as two short supplements that attempt to bridge the gap between Sidney’s original and revised versions of the work.

Sir Philip Sidney’s Arcadia has held a significant place in literary imagination since its inception over 430 years ago. Our four-volume set presents five re-imaginings of the text, as well as two short supplements that attempt to bridge the gap between Sidney’s original and revised versions of the work.

L'Allegro (which means "the happy man" in Italian) is invariably paired with the contrasting pastoral poem, Il Penseroso ("the pensive man"), which depicts a similar day spent in contemplation and thought. Excerpted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

As the digital age settles on us and the ebook revolution dawns, the question of why we read to begin with is often forgotten. Who better to turn to for guidance on this question than the man who sought refuge in the simple things we often take for granted, Henry David Thoreau. His thoughts on reading are as relevant in the eBook era as they were in the age of the locomotive.Princeton Shorts are brief selections excerpted from influential Princeton University Press publications pro...

Il Penseroso is a pastoral poem by John Milton, written in 1631. Invoking "divinest Melancholy", the poem is in praise of the contemplative, withdrawn life of study, philosophy, thought and meditation, and is a counterpiece to L'Allegro, which praises the more cheerful sides of life and literature. Both pieces detail the passing of a day in the countryside according to both philosophies. Because of Milton's later reputation as a fearsomely learned and dour poet, readers often detect a grea...

Featuring the most frequently taught female writers and texts of the early modern period, this Companion introduces the reader to the range, complexity, historical importance, and aesthetic merit of women's writing in Britain from 1500–1700. Presenting key textual, historical, and methodological information, the volume exemplifies new and diverse approaches to the study of women's writing. The book is clearly divided into three sections, covering: how women learnt to write and how their wo...

Thoroughly researched and accessible, ‘Old, Bold and Won’t Be Told’ considers closely Shakespeare’s development of his older female characters, who defy conventional stereotypes and act with power, influence and creativity. Shakespeare refers to standard characteristics of the ageing woman – her loss of looks, ‘inappropriate’ sexuality, flouting of male governance and inability to hold her tongue – but, unlike his contemporaries, also further develops and celebrates the strength and import...

Illustrating the Past is a study of the status of visual and verbal media in early modern English representations of the past. It focuses on general attitudes towards visual and verbal representations of history as well as specific illustrated books produced during the period. Through a close examination of the relationship of image to text in light of contemporary discussions of poetic and aesthetic practice, the book demonstrates that the struggle between the image and the word ...

This is the first comprehensive account of English Renaissance literature in the context of the culture which shaped it: the courts of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, the tumult of Catholic and Protestant alliances during the Reformation, the age of printing and of New World discovery. In this century courtly literature under Henry VIII moves toward a new, more personal poetry of sentiment, narrative and romance. The development of English prose is seen in the writing of More, Foxe and Hooker ...

The Oxford Handbook of English Prose 1500-1640 is the only current overview of early modern English prose writing. The aim of the volume is to make prose more visible as a subject and as a mode of writing. It covers a vast range of material vital for the understanding of the period: from jestbooks, newsbooks, and popular romance to the translation of the classics and the pioneering collections of scientific writing and travel writing; from diaries, tracts on witchcraft, and domest...