Autobiography and Authorship in Renaissance Verse : Chronicles of the Self

The advent of relatively cheap editions of poetry in the mid-16th century produced an explosion of verse, much of which represented the first person speaker as a version of the author.

This book examines ways in which writers, often seeking advancement in their careers, harnessed verse for self-promotional purposes.

Texts studied include a manuscript autobiography by Thomas Whythorne, printed verse by a woman, Isabella Whitney, travel and war narratives, as well as canonical texts by Spenser, Sidney and Shakespeare.