Middle English Lyrics (Norton Critical Edition)

I first picked up this book nearly twenty years ago, and it has remained a favourite of mine. Middle English poetry is relatively hard to come by, particularly in the 'original' version. Of course, this is a slightly modified original (modern typeface, a few spelling conventions that warrant attention), but for the most part, this is the lyric poetry as it was originally written. There are a few photographs of original manuscripts, some with musical notation added to the words, for comparison.

This collection includes all of the poetry from the Harley manuscript (a piece from the Middle Ages which is the sole surviving copy of a good number of Middle English poems), all the verses from the Brown XIV manuscript by Friar Herebert, and most of the poems in 'Secular Lyrics' the Oxford edition by R.H. Robbins. There are nearly 250 poems in all.

These poems are arranged thematically, and show the diversity of interests in the Middle English culture. This was a culture that was very much in transition, shifting from its historic Anglo-Saxon roots to one that was more in touch in a peaceable way with the continent, become more urban in many respects, and becoming a blended culture in many ways. There are influences of court and church, French, Germanic tongues, Celtic influences, rural pastoral settings and new town experiences. 'In their copiousness and variety, too, these poems - songs of love and death, God and nature, the pleasures of the table and the fears of damnation, the ebullience of youth and the melancholy of old age - form one of the great bodies of lyric verse in world literature.'

Middle English encompasses a long time period and a variety of dialects; from the immediate post-Norman Conquest times when the language of Anglo-Saxons jostled with the language of the Normans, up to the generations succeeding Chaucer, when the Germanic and Latinate influences had blended together in a wonderful way.

The editors of this text, Maxwell Luria and Richard Hoffman, have departed from certain conventions, such as declining to contrive titles for lyrics; they also freely confess their difficulties with some of the poetry, like the Harley manuscript (they are far from the only ones to have this difficulty), and, because this text is intended primarily for students, have not spent a great deal of time trying to sort out all of these issues in this text.

This Norton edition also includes essays, divided into two sorts. There are four essays dealing with Critical and Historical Background (essays on style, content, performance, and cross-cultural connections), and several essays that focus upon six specific poems, including the very famous 'Sumer is icumen in'. Although these six poems are highlighted, many others are referenced and discusses within the broader framework of the essays.

This is a glorious collection of verse, lesser known but that which should be known. The essays are interesting and useful for helping understanding. There are bibliographies and an index of first lines useful for students doing research.

Middle English Lyrics (2/2 people found this helpful)

This is probably the best edition of Middle English lyrics available in that it gives a sense of the full range of the Middle English lyric poet. In this it differs from other editions that concentrate solely on the religious lyric or tend to over-historicise the lyrics rather than appreciating their aesthetic status. The thematic arrangement of the poems makes the edition ideal for a reader wishing to browse and familiarise themselves with the poetry. It is also an excellent edition for those wishing to use it for academic purposes as it includes critical essays which examine classic views as well as modern reevaluations of the poems.

Middle English Lyrics (Norton Critical Edition)

MS Luria

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Worldes blisse, have good day! (6/6 people found this helpful)

Middle English Lyrics (2/2 people found this helpful)

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