Songs and Sonnets of Elizabethan Period: Sir Philip Sidney, Spenser, Shakespeare, Henry constable, Samuel Daniel and Michael Drayton

Sonnet, derived from the Italian word ‘Sonneto’ meaning a little sound or strain, is a poem expressing one main idea or emotion consisting of fourteen decasyllabic lines. the origin of it is Italy in the early 15th century.In the first half of the 16^th century the sonnet was introduced in England by Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey. However, such outburst of lyricism in Elizabethan England is shared by almost all the poets of the Elizabethan period including Sir Philip Sidney, Spenser and Shakespeare. Among the other writers there is Henry constable, Samuel Daniel, Michael Drayton etc. Now we will categorically analyse them.

Sir Philip Sidney (1554–1586):

 Firstly Sir Philip Sidney set the vogue of writing sonnet sequences. In fact after Wyatt and Surrey, the sonnet was neglected for a number of years. It was for Sidney to revitalize this form by composing one hundred and eight sonnets, all put in Astrophel and Stella (published posthumously in 1591) , commemorating his futile love for Penelope Devereux, the daughter of his patron, the Earl of Essex. This sequence of 108 sonnets and 11 songs is one of the first examples of the English sonnet, adapted from the Petrarchan form. Sidney’s work explores the complexities of unrequited love and the speaker’s adoration of Stella, blending courtly love conventions with a more personal and introspective tone. As a sonneteer Sidney is placed next only to Shakespeare and Spenser. His sonnets are mostly written in mixed Italian and English form.  Sidney’s contributions to the sonnet form helped pave the way for later poets like Shakespeare and Spenser, particularly in the use of metaphor, conceit, and emotional depth.

Edmund Spenser (1552–1599):

The next most notable Edmund Spenser , best known for his epic poem The Faerie Queene,wrote Amoretti(1595), a sequence of eighty nine sonnets addressed to Elizabeth Boyle whom he married in 1594. In them the poet gives expression to his feeling of his heart in a sincere and unaffected manner without any recourse to allegory. Here is not the unquiet of Sidney’s love for Lord Rich’s wife, nor the complaining tone of Shakespeare whose mistress deceived him with his friend. Spenser’s sonnets are unique for their ‘purity’, ‘maidenliness’, and 'divine qualities’. In style it is improved upon and rhyme scheme is three interlinked quatrains in an alternative rhyme with the couplet standing alone i.e. abab bcbc cdcd ee.

William Shakespeare (1564–1616):

Next Shakespeare’s sonnets are expressions of his feelings and experience of love and lust, of friendship and honour, of growth through experience of sin, expiation, of mutability, plentitude and the knowledge of good and evil. According to Oscar Wilde, they are a dramatic presentation of the passions and conflicts raging with in the poet’s own soul. Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets  first published in Thorpe’s edition of 1609. Most critics agree that Shakespeare’s sonnets consists of two group of  poems – a long series addressed to the Fair Youth (sonnets – 1 to 126) followed by a shorter series concerned with the Dark Lady (sonnets 127 – 154). The Shakespearean sonnet is divided into four parts – three quatrains and one couplet. Each quatrain has its own rhyme scheme as, abab, cdcd, efef, gg. Like the Italian sonnet the Shakespearean is also normally addressed to dear one, as mentioned already, but unlike the Italian sonnet, it has no turn of thought, hence no pause. Shakespeare’s use of the ability to explore the nuances of human emotion, along with his philosophical reflections on the nature of time and change, made his work enduringly influential. Sonnets like Sonnet 18 (“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”) and Sonnet 130 (“My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun”) remain iconic for their blend of wit, pathos, and eloquence.

Henry Constable (1562–1613):

Henry Constable, though less well-known than some of his contemporaries, was an important early contributor to the English sonnet tradition. His collection Diana (1592) is composed of sonnets that exhibit a more spiritual and philosophical engagement with the theme of love. Constable’s  twenty eight sonnets, besides four sonnets To Sir P. Sidney’s soul prefixed to Sidney’s Apology For Poetry, often reflect the influence of Petrarchan conventions, with their idealized portrayals of love and beauty. However, his work also displays a deep sense of melancholy, as well as a preoccupation with the fleeting nature of life and earthly pleasures.

Samuel Daniel (1562–1619)

Samuel Daniel’s Delia (1592), a sonnet sequence of 55 poems, is another significant contribution to the Elizabethan sonnet tradition. Like Sidney and Spenser, Daniel’s work is heavily influenced by Petrarchan themes of unrequited love and admiration for the beloved. However, Daniel’s style is distinct in its clarity and restraint, often eschewing the elaborate metaphors and conceits found in other sonneteers’ work. His sonnets are marked by a reflective, contemplative tone, and he often explores themes of time and change. Daniel’s precision in language and structure had a lasting influence on the development of English lyric poetry.

Michael Drayton (1563–1631)

Michael Drayton, like his contemporaries, was a prolific writer of both sonnets and longer poetic works. His Ideas Mirror (1594) is a sonnet sequence that displays a wide range of emotions and themes, from love and desire to regret and loss. Drayton’s most famous sonnet, Sonnet 61 (“Since there’s no help, come let us kiss and part”), stands out for its dramatic tone and direct expression of emotional intensity. The poem captures the moment of a final parting between lovers and is remarkable for its poignancy and emotional immediacy. Drayton’s sonnets often reveal a mastery of the English sonnet form and a keen understanding of the dynamics of human relationships.

In the bulk of two thousand sonnets in Elizabethan period the predominant theme is obviously love, problem of time and poetic articulation. In form and language there is certain variation yet the subject lines conform the uniformity. However, it is true that they form the casket, which encloses the most precious pearls of Elizabethan lyricism, some of them unsurpassed by none.     

Ardhendu De