The Portable Elizabethan Reader

by Hiram Haydn

Samples of the era in a same handy volume.

Genres: Philosophy, Poetry, Essays

Paperback

First published January 1, 1946

Reviews

[Sharon Barrow Wilfong · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an anthology of the poetry, songs, history, drama, essays, personal memoirs, religious and scientific writings of the Elizabethan era. Authors include Sir Walter Raleigh, John Donne, William Shakespeare, Francis Bacon, Christopher Marlowe, John Foxe, Edmund Spenser, and Ben Johnson to name the better known Elizabethan authors plus many lessor known writers.

I personally found the poetry to be especially enjoyable. Centered largely around mystical love and the perfect woman in language that is quite obsolete but nevertheless lovely, I enjoyed the various rhymes and rhythm and there is quite a variety of them.

It includes an excerpt of George Chapman's translation of Homer's Iliad and Sir Thomas North's of Antony's flight and Cleopatra's Death.

If you enjoy the literature of that time period, not the least of which is the beautiful and tragically now antiquated language of the 17th century you will enjoy this book.

It is old and out of print, but I'm sure someone somewhere is selling a copy on eBay or Amazon.

[Redsteve · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this collection is described as “Elizabethan,” the writings also include many written during the reign of James (and at least one, Sir Thomas Wyatt’s “Whoso List to Hunt,” from the reign of Henry VIII). Most are excerpts, but there are some complete plays and poems. The good contains a wide variety of writings from the period, dealing with exploration and interactions with native peoples, astronomy and science, magic and witchcraft, politics, history, philosophy, ethics and morality, education, religion, song and poetry, drama, satire, popular songs, and even a tract about the evils of tobacco. Authors include Edmund Spenser, William Shakespeare, John Donne, Sir Walter Ralegh, Francis Bacon, John Foxx, Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Nashe, Dr. John Dee, Philip Sidney. Reginald Scott, Thomas Wyatt, Robert Devereux, Ben Jonson. Queen Elizabeth, and numerous others. Overall, a good introduction of thought and popular culture in the era. Annoyingly, this collection has no footnotes nor any translations of the Latin and Greek quotations that are sprinkled liberally throughout the text. So, while the reader gets an excellent cross-section of thought in the late 16th and early 17th Centuries, little context is provided if you aren’t already fairly well-versed in the period. 3 stars.

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this book but you've got to like the topic and be interested in it to keep your focus.