and this may be because his court patrons demanded
the subject and style of his poems. His three poems
that have received the most critical attention are The
Thrissil and the Rois (a poem in honor of James IV and
Margaret Tudor written in 1503), Goldyn Targe, and
Dance of the Sevin Deidly Synnis. However, the remain-
der of his canon is steadily gaining more attention, par-
ticularly his two longest poems (despite the fact that
Dunbar is mostly a poet of shorter pieces): The Flyting
with Kennedie (a quarrel poem of 550 lines, sometimes
entitled The Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedie) and Tretis
of the Tua Mariit Wemen and the Wedo (an ambitious
work of 530 lines). In addition, the scope of Dunbar’s
canon is ever-changing. Some poems, which have been
attributed to him in the past, are no longer considered
his work, and others have been more recently discov-
ered as probably Dunbar’s.
Dunbar has also been credited, probably errone-
ously, with the fi rst reference to the New World in a
piece of English literature. In his poem This Waverand
Warldis Wretchidnes, he refers to the “new fund Yle.”
More recently, historians and critics have argued that
the “new fund Yle” is not America at all, but rather
Newfoundland.
Dunbar is classifi ed as one of the SCOTTISH CHAUCE-
RIANS, and Chaucer’s infl uence on him is apparent as
he specifi cally cites the Englishman in two of his
poems—“LAMENT FOR THE MAKARIS” and Goldyn Targe—
as “the noble Chaucer” and the “reverend Chaucere”
respectively. Indeed, 18th- and 19th-century criticism
of the poet focused mainly on the Chaucerian allusions
and imitations in Dunbar’s writings, and it is clear that
the humor and bawdiness that often characterize some
of Chaucer’s writing can also be seen in much of Dun-
bar’s. In addition, like Chaucer, Dunbar is a master at
incorporating different voices and speakers into his
work. However, the 20th century brought new focus
to Dunbar criticism, turning away from his Chaucerian
infl uence to his Scottish roots.
By the end of the 20th century, Dunbar had been
studied at length for his “Scottishness” and how this
manifests itself in his poetry. For example, in his poem
“Lament for the Makaris,” Dunbar discusses 24 differ-
ent deceased English and Scottish poets whom he has
considered infl uential in his own work, including
Chaucer, JOHN GOWER, and JOHN LYDGATE. The term he
coins there, the makars, has long been a synonym for
Middle Scots poets.
See also FLYTING.FURTHER READING
Mapstone, Sally, ed. William Dunbar, “The Nobill Poyet”:
Essays in Honor of Priscilla Bawcutt. East Linton, Scotland:
Tuckwell, 2001.
Reiss, Edmund. William Dunbar. Boston: Twayne, 1979.
Tasioulas, Jackie, ed. The Makars: The Poems of Henryson,
Dunbar, and Douglas. Edinburgh: Canongate, 2000.
Jennifer N. BrownDUNBAR, WILLIAM 153