John Skelton and Poetic Authority

This is the first book-length study of John Skelton (1460-1529) for almost twenty years, and the first to link his poetic theory with his practice as a writer and translator. Reassessing Skelton's place in the English literary canon, it suggests the need to reconsider the conventional distinction between 'Medieval' and 'Renaissance' poetics. - ;John Skelton and Poetic Authority is the first book-length study of Skelton for almost twenty years, and the first to trace the roots of his poetic theory to his practice as a writer and translator. It demonstrates that much of what has been found challenging in his work may be attributed to his attempt to reconcile existing views of the poet's role in society with discoveries about the writing process itself. The result is a highly idiosyncratic poetics that locates the. poet's authority decisively within his own person, yet at the same time predicates his 'liberty to speak' upon the existence of an engaged, imaginative audience. Skelton is frequently treated as a maverick, but this book places his theory and practice firmly in the context of later sixteenth as well as. fifteenth-century traditions. Focusing on his relations with both past and present readers, it reassess his place in the English literary canon. - ;Her blending of the creative and the scholarly results in a richly suggestive work. - A.S.G. Edwards, Times Literary Supplement;takes a big stride forward: one begins to fell that we - she [Griffiths]- may at last have got him [Skelton] sorted. - Helen Cooper, London Review of Books;This book has many strengths, not least of which are its fresh and challenging readings of a number of major poems...a valuable contribution to Skelton scholarship - Medium Aevum, LXXVI