Selected Poems

by Henry Howard, Dennis Keene (Editor)

Immensely influential in literary history for his development of blank verse and the Petrarchian sonnet form in English, and as the first modern translator of Virgil, this selection reveals the Earl of Surrey to be a subtle and graceful poet and translator whose vigorous and faithful versions of the Aeneid continue to enrich the literary tradition. Reflecting an idealized world of aristocratic virtues of chivalry and honor, these poems have both a rich language and formal sophistication.

Genres: Poetry, Classics

104 pages, Paperback

First published April 11, 2003

About the author

earl of Surrey, knight of the Garter, an English aristocrat, and one of the founders of Renaissance poetry in England

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_H...

Reviews

[Illiterate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Howard combines a detached outlook and elegant style. He offers: translations; courtly life, loves, and politics; Biblical laments. Top tips: 29, 30, 34.

[Michael Goldsmith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not a poetry critic but I think ocassionally Surrey's verse felt a little thin. I wasn't entirely bothered about some of the translations either. Nevertheless I was fascinated to read poetry by an somewhat forgotten figure in Tudor history.