In this Book
- English Mercuries: Soldier Poets in the Age of Shakespeare
- Book
- 2009
- Published by: Vanderbilt University Press
These misgivings are a powerful undercurrent in much of the literature of the period, even the most ostensibly patriotic works, but it is in the writings on war by soldier poets where they are most clearly pronounced. Fashioning themselves as servants of both Mars and Mercury (the god of war and the god of writing), Elizabethan soldier poets focused their war stories on the gritty realities of military campaigning, the price individuals paid for serving the state, and the difficulties of returning to civilian life. The book reconsiders some familiar writers like John Donne and Ben Jonson in the context of their military experiences and provides comprehensive studies of some important but underappreciated soldier poets like Thomas Churchyard, George Gascoigne, and John Harington.
Table of Contents
- Table of Contents
- p. vii
- List of Illustrations
- pp. ix-x
- Ecole Lemonier: An Introduction
- pp. 1-20
- Chapter 1. English Mercuries
- pp. 21-42
- Chapter 4. A Tale of Two Cities
- pp. 83-101
- Chapter 5. John Donne’s Emblem of War
- pp. 102-124
- Chapter 6. John Harington’s Journey Home
- pp. 125-143
- Chapter 7. Remembering Soldiers
- pp. 144-164
- Works Cited
- pp. 181-194
Additional Information
Copyright
2009