
audiobook
by Michael Drayton, Bartholomew Griffin, active 1596 William Smith
E-text prepared by David Starner, Melissa Er-Raqabi,
ELIZABETHAN SONNET-CYCLES - EDITED BY - MARTHA FOOTE CROW
IDEA - BY - MICHAEL DRAYTON
FIDESSA - BY - BARTHOLOMEW GRIFFIN
CHLORIS - BY - WILLIAM SMITH
IDEA - BY - MICHAEL DRAYTON
MICHAEL DRAYTON
TO THE READER OF THESE SONNETS
IDEA
TO THE SOUL
In the glittering world of Elizabethan court and countryside, a young poet wanders the fairy‑touched woods of Arden and learns his craft beside the harp at Polesworth Hall. His verses soon become a steady stream of lyrical and chorographical works that win the favor of generous patrons, yet his heart remains fixed on a single, unattainable lady, whom he calls “Idea.” Through tender eclogues and earnest sonnets, he paints her beauty in language that balances pastoral charm with budding artistic ambition.
The collection follows his early triumphs, his move to bustling London, and the bittersweet realization that love and poetry do not always walk hand in hand. As his style matures, he experiments with the Shakespearean sonnet form, refining his voice while lingering on the ache of unreceived letters and missed meetings. Listeners will hear the echo of a poet who, despite modest means, strives to immortalize a love that shapes an entire lyrical legacy.
Language
en
Duration
~2 hours (120K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Release date
Mar 24, 2005
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1563–1631
A vivid voice from the Elizabethan and early Stuart age, this English poet is best remembered for turning the landscape and history of England into verse. His work ranges from love sonnets to sweeping historical poems, with a style that is energetic, learned, and deeply rooted in place.
View all booksd. 1602
Best known for the sonnet sequence Fidessa, this little-documented Elizabethan poet left behind a small but memorable mark on English Renaissance verse. His surviving work is admired for its musical language and its intensely courtly take on love.
View all booksAn elusive Elizabethan poet, known today almost entirely through a single 1596 sonnet sequence, left behind work shaped by the literary world around Edmund Spenser and Sir Philip Sidney. What survives suggests a writer closely connected to the vibrant culture of late Tudor poetry.
View all books
by Michael Drayton

by Michael Drayton

by Dion Boucicault

by Maria Edgeworth

by Eliza Fowler Haywood

by Lady (Sydney) Morgan

by Ben Jonson

by Ben Jonson