{"product_id":"9780813079431-introduction-to-middle-english-lyrics","title":"An Introduction to Middle English Lyrics","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eUnderstanding a medieval poetry genre through modern translations, commentary, and the role of performance\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMiddle English lyrics are anonymous short poems that were composed between the twelfth and sixteenth centuries. They address a range of themes, both secular and religious, and usually emphasize the author’s personal relationship to the subject matter. In this introduction to the genre, William Quinn offers an overview of the large body of work, identifying common features and trends over time and discussing select examples in detail.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eQuinn argues that Middle English lyrics are best understood when read as emotional performances and guides readers through the poems’ expressions of joy, sorrow, anger, fear, compassion, spiritual devotion, romantic attraction, erotic frustration, and gender-targeted contempt. For the poems he considers in detail, Quinn provides line-for-line modern renditions of the Middle English texts. The book also includes commentaries keyed to the original texts, intended to prompt interpretations and enrich understandings of the lyrics. Quinn concludes by tracing the later development of versification from medieval to Renaissance lyrics, looking at work by Chaucer, Hoccleve, Petrarch, Wyatt, Surrey, and Shakespeare.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eAn Introduction to Middle English Lyrics\u003c\/i\u003e encourages readers to appreciate this literary genre on its own terms and to reconsider modern ideas of what makes a “good” poem. With a deeper knowledge of how lyrics functioned in their historical settings, this book fosters a reassessment of their significance to the broader history of English poetry.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA volume in the series \u003ci\u003eNew Perspectives on Medieval Literature: Authors and Traditions\u003c\/i\u003e, edited by R. Barton Palmer and Tison Pugh\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56517598970230,"sku":"9780813079431","price":70.75,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/orig_37623837_b1e8cbbb-caa5-4df2-9d24-45e7b41b45fd.jpg?v=1762224223","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/9780813079431-introduction-to-middle-english-lyrics","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}