The Patronage System and Renaissance Literature

Paper Summary:

This paper provides an overview of why, in "Self-Crowned Laureates," Richard Helgerson places English Renaissance writers within a patronage system that frequently influenced the content of their works. To this end, an analysis of Ben Jonson's poem "To Penshurst" and his "Masque of Blackness"; Aemilia Lanyer's poems "The Description of Cooke-ham" and "Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum"; John Milton's masque "Comus," and Mary Wroth's "Urania" is conducted to determine what or why these works were written, as well as the specific patrons that provided these Renaissance writers with political or social favors or monetary remuneration in exchange for their services. An assessment of how women writers from this era frequently dedicated their writings to powerful figures is followed by an analysis of how the appeal to a patron authorized these writers to act and the manner in which these poets advance themselves socially through their art. A discussion of how class difference troubled or enhanced these writers is provided in the conclusion.

Outline
Introduction
Review and Discussion
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"The patronage system under which Jonson created was one in which he was compelled write for the gentry but he was not that happy about it, because he thought himself the better person because of his talent, whereas the aristocracy had money but not talent. Yet he had to write such works as "To Penshurst" just to make a living and in the hopes, too, that he could raise up in society. In this regard, Loewenstein and Mueller (2002) report that, "Literature became the unofficial currency of the patronage system - well-turned sonnets, graceful compliments and effusive book-dedications being among the recognized ways by which hopeful candidates would present themselves for the job. Patronage came in all shapes and sizes, from permanent positions to more sporadic offerings, gifts or payments in kind" (346). In this regard, Briggs (1997) emphasizes that Jonson's poem, "To Penshurst," is absolutely rife with effusive praise for one such landholder who was deemed benevolent simply by virtue of not being evil. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Briggs, Julia. This Stage-Play World: Texts and Contexts, 1580-1625. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.
• Hall, Kim F. Things of Darkness: Economies of Race and Gender in Early Modern England. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1995.
• Haselkorn, Anne M. and Betty S. Travitsky. The Renaissance Englishwoman in Print: Counterbalancing the Canon. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 1990.
• Hunter, William B., Jr. Milton's Comus: Family Piece. Troy, NY: Whitston Publishing Company, 1983.
• Loewenstein, David and Janel Mueller. The Cambridge History of Early Modern English Literature. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002.

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