In the sixteenth century the conception of world order, e.g. the chain of life and man’s uncertain place in it, formed a principal matter equally ranked with the theological scheme of sin and salvation. One has to bear in mind, however, that the part of Christianity that was paramount was not the life of Christ but the orthodox scheme of the revolt of the bad angels, the creation (with all the universal laws of order), the temptation and fall of man and the regeneration through Christ. Neither should one forget that the orthodox sense of salvation was pervasive in this turbulent age, something one could revolt against but not ignore. Moreover, great emphasis was placed on the dignity and potential of the individual and the worth of life in the world. English culture remained in a state of constant flux all through the century, with periods of relative calmness, due to imported as well as imposed novelties on the field of religion, culture and linguistics. In order to show this large variety of different views on life and religion in this age,whether opposing or corresponding, I will try to discuss relevant lines of poets all through the century from Skelton to Greville.

Pray ffor the sowlis of those be dead and goone.

In Sir Philip Sidney’s ‘Leave Me, O Love’, the light represents the sun which in turn represents the most important part of Heaven (eternal light and love). The mind, however, should on earth ‘aspire to higher things’ (l.2), while the lover exclaims introspectively ‘let that light be thy guide’ (l.9), for the soul of a true believer should avert earthly matter in order to ‘seeketh heav’n’ (l.12). These expressions are almost literally taken from the Bible, where they have been applied to the law of God or Christ. In this way the love-religion interpretations are not mutually exclusive, because they have the same attributes. Sidney’s sister, Mary Herbert, Lady Pembroke, approved the posthumous publication of Sidney’s works and made her own contribution to English poetry by revising and continuing her brother’s verse translation of the Psalms. In Psalm 58 she rejoices in in the justification of the faithful and appeals for wrath to descend on the heads of the un-Godly :

That sits and marks still who doth act amiss ;

Oxford University Press. Oxford. 1986.

The trykklyngge tearys dothe ffall so from my yes

Some topics in this essay:
God Greville, Man’ Ralegh, Psalms Psalm, Renaissance Neoplatonism, Mornyng Wyse’, Christ Neither, William Shakespeare, Anglican Church, Philip Sidney’s, Religious Views, sixteenth century, english poetry, abrams mh, satirical attacks, sir thomas, anglican church, dead |, literary terms, life play,