John Skelton & Beyond!

• "In the sixteenth century, power and status were closely bound up with costumes, symbols of authority, and visible signs of rank—the fetishism of dress. Clothing in this culture, as in ours today, was used as a marker of identity, but to a remarkable extent it could also appear to determine both gender identity and social rank" (Norton).

• Much literature of the 16th Century focuses on the fascinating, threatening, and some- times strangely vulnerable image of royalty. --> such as Elizabeth I

  
  

• C.S. Lewis, author of The Chronicles of Narnia, was highly critical of the 16th century poet John Skelton's "skeltonic verse," arguing that the type of verse could not attempt to "treat something fully human and adult" (129) in a serious manner. Lewis saw Skelton as a skillfully playful poet, but he did not believe Skelton knew where he was going as he wrote.

• From one point of view, Skelton can be seen to represent the irreverent, convivial spirit of “merry old Catholic England,” which the Reformation despised and did its best to eradicate. Conversely, he can be seen as a proto-Reformer, levelling sharp and witty criticism at the so- cial and spiritual corruption of early Tudor society.

• "Skeltonics" -- short verse of about 2-3 feet (or six syllables ) with end rhyme. Their is no regular pattern in meter, but there is the use of end meter

"The Tunning of Elinour Rumming"

• Post-Reformation writers may spiritualize sex, decorate it, or debase it, but none of them quite match Skelton for cheerful frankness. Perhaps the closest parallel is found in another early Tudor text, Utopia, where More writes approvingly of the custom of men and women being displayed naked to one another before marriage, so that they will know what they are getting in the bargain.

• Skelton was seen as a very controversial figure. He was arrested a few times. He secretly married, though he was a preacher. He spoke of "indecent" things in his sermons. He was an uncensored wit!

Discussion Questions

• To what extent Skelton is criticizing, and to what extent celebrating, the lives and actions of the people he describes in the poem?

• How do the “Skeltonics” contribute to the effect of “The Tunning of Elinour Rumming”?

• Identify aspects of Skelton’s work that seem medieval in character. Are there other aspects that seem to point to a more modern sensibility?

• Is Elinour Rumming a popular heroine, or a symptom of a corrupt and decadent society?

• What resemblances and what differences do you perceive between Elinour Rumming and Chaucer’s Wife of Bath?

  
  

  
  

"With lullay, lullay, like a child"

• What is the plot of this poem, and how does that work in tandem with the repeated lines?

• Tonally, what can we understand about the speaker's view towards the sleeping man? How does this align with what we have learned about Skelton's real person?

• How is the verse in this poem a bit different and more "traditional"?

"Mannerly Margery Milk and Ale"

• What meaning can be gotten from a poem in which the chorus lines are sung by bass? How might the poems situation and humor play a role in any larger meaning to be derived?

Okay, so now lets read a few more of the Skelton poems on-line. What are some of the ways that his particular style enhance his subjects and the satirical/biting tone found in much of his work?

Elizabeth I & the end of an era

• Elizabethan theater: her era was the first in which there were public playhouses! Among the ideas we can understand about the time being considered "Early Modern" include:

1. Admission prices were for the first time charged. Before, entertainment was a reward for work, etc.
2. Urban Traffic Problems, including vulgar behavior and debauchery (drunkeness).
3. Also, safety became an issue, as women were plucked off the streets and forced to prostitute! (Did we really think that what happens in Liam Neeson's Taken was a new concept!)

• Elizabeth I never married, and never had children. She had rumored affairs and arranged marriages gone bad, but she didn't marry.

• She was Protestant, and often used her faith to her advantage as a ruler.

For Next Tuesday:

1. Having read all of Elizabeth I (p. 687-703) and the following John Donne poems, complete Talking Points 2 for attendance and for points, and for discussion next Tuesday.

John Donne's Selected Poems

• "The Flea" (1263)
• "The Sun Rising" (1266)
• "Air and Angels" (1270)
• "Love's Alchemy" (1272)
• "The Funeral" (1278)
• Holy Sonnet 5 // "I am a little world..." (1295)
• Holy Sonnet 10 (1297)
• Holy Sonnet 14 (1297)
• You may also want to read the intro to Donne, page 1260-1262, for good contextualization on his poetry.

***As the hurricane known as Too Little Time comes to shore, we are quickly shifting from the 16th Century to the 17th Century. Hopefully we will be able to discuss the transition in culture and literature by discussing both Elizabeth I and John Donne (two prominent figures that can stand in for their times!)***