John Skelton Summary

The English poet and humanist John Skelton (ca. 1460-1529) is chiefly remembered for his satires on the court and the clergy.Little is known of John Skelton's youth except that he may have come from Y... Read more

In the following essay, Auden regards Skelton's poetry as falling naturally into four divisions—imitations of “aureate” poetry of the fifteenth century; lyrics; poems in rh... Read more

In the following essay, Wooden tests C. S. Lewis's contention that Phillip Sparrow is the first great poem about childhood, and finds that the work presents a “sensitive exploration of a... Read more

In the following essay, Loewenstein maintains that the Garland of Laurel uses self-parody and exaggeration to evaluate, question, and celebrate Skelton's poetic character and literary fame. Ske... Read more

In the following essay, Scattergood argues that, although the incident described in Ware the Hauke is a particular and specific one, the literary treatment of it is highly traditional, using conventio... Read more

In the following essay, Halpern explains that Skelton lived in the period of transition from feudalism to capitalism—which Karl Marx described as a process of “primitive accumulation... Read more

In the following essay, Daileader considers the various approaches to Phillip Sparrow taken by previous critics and offers a reading that reconciles their dissenting positions. She find that the poem ... Read more

In the following essay, Gustafson claims that Skelton's earliest English verse, the Dolorous Dethe, is more politically and poetically sophisticated than most critics have allowed, arguing that... Read more

In the following essay, Kinsman contends that in Collyn Cloute Skelton achieves a structure and enlivens “the conventions of medieval satire by the deliberate and controlled use of ‘diss... Read more

In the following essay, Kinsman offers a general overview of Skelton's work, noting the “direct diction” and “appropriate meter” in the shorter poems; the broad scop... Read more

In the following essay, Winser claims that The Garland of Laurel is the “narrative account of a complex entertainment” intended for performance at a Christmas festival. Deep within the h... Read more

In the following influential essay, originally published in 1935, Auden provides a reassessment of Skelton 's poetic accomplishments. To write an essay on a poet who has no biography, no messag... Read more

In the following lecture given at the Aldeburgh Festival of 1950, Forster offers an introduction to the pleasures of reading Skelton 's poetry. John Skelton was an East Anglian; he was a poet, ... Read more

In the following excerpt, Holloway praises Skelton's vernacular poetry as well as his careful attention to common experience. To discuss Skelton effectively is to do more than elucidate the pas... Read more

In the following essay, Phillips discusses the influence of poets Geoffrey Chaucer and William Langland on Skelton 's poetry. John Skelton has been fortunate in his critics during our century, ... Read more

In the following excerpt, Halpern relates Skelton's poetry to political and cultural changes in Tudor England, particularly the transition from a feudal society to an absolute monarchy. If he w... Read more