of The Art of English Poesie, Sir THOMAS WYATT and
HENRY HOWARD, EARL OF SURREY, went to Italy and
brought back the verse forms that make them “the fi rst
reformers of our English meter and stile” (49). The
introduction of these new Italian forms, in turn, neces-
sitated the fl urry of Renaissance poetry manuals by
GEORGE GASCOIGNE, SAMUEL DANIEL, Charles Webb, Sir
PHILIP SIDNEY, and Puttenham, among others.
Book I, “Of Poets and Poesie,” contains a remarkably
credible history of poetry in Greek, Latin, and English.
All subjects, including science and law, were written in
verse in primitive times, and the types of poetry num-
ber in the dozens. Because it is decorated with versifi -
cation and fi gures of speech, poetry is a more persuasive
and melodious form of language and is very much
given to structure and accuracy. The countless exam-
ples of dignities and promotions given to poets
throughout history, and the numerous examples of
royal poets, show up the ignorance of Renaissance
courtiers who suppress their poetry or publish under a
pseudonym.
In Book II, “Of Proportion Poetical,” Puttenham
compares metrical form to arithmetical, geometrical,
and musical pattern. He adduces fi ve points to English
verse structure: The “Staffe,” the “Measure,” “Concord
or Symphony,” “Situation,” and “Figure.” The staffe, or
STANZA, is four to 10 lines that join without intermis-
sion and fi nish all of the sentences thereof. Each length
of the stanza suits a poetic tone and genre. Each is
overlaid by a closed rhyme scheme. This latter, termed
“band” (65) or “enterlacement” (70), is of primary con-
cern to Puttenham. He views English as having solely a
syllabic system of measure (meter). The length of lines
may alternate in patterns that support the rhyme
scheme and, so, increase the band. Syllabic length is a
factor, but accentuation is not. “Concord, called Sym-
phonie or rime” (76) is an accommodation made for
the lack of metrical feet in English versifi cation. The
matching of line lengths, rhymed at the end, in sym-
metrical patterns, is a further accommodation. Putten-
ham includes a number of graphs to illustrate the
variety of rhyme schemes and line-length patterns, or
situation. Proportion in fi gure is the composition of
stanzas in graphic forms ranging from the rhombus to
the spire.
Book III, “Of Ornament,” which comprises a full
half of the Arte, is a catalog of fi gures of speech. Put-
tenham believes that language, since it is inherently
artifi cial, not natural, is suitable for the added artifi ce
of fi gures. Figures give more “pithe and substance,
subtilitie, quicknesse, effi cacie or moderation, in this
or that sort tuning and tempring them by amplifi ca-
tion, abridgement, opening, closing, enforcing, meek-
ening or otherwise disposing them to the best purpose”
(134). This defi nition is followed by a catalog of the
various fi gures of speech, which Puttenham analyzes.
His book concludes with a lengthy analysis of
“decency,” and the artifi cial and natural dimensions of
language.
Robert EinarssonASKEW, ANNE See “BALLAD WHICH ASKEW
MADE AND SANG WHEN IN NEWGATE, A.”ASSONANCE Assonance occurs when vowel
sounds are repeated in words that are next to or near
each other. The sounds may be identical or similar, but
in all cases the vowels will be accented. Scholars often
call assonance vocalic rhyme, since it is more of a sound
effect than a rhyme proper: the words sit and bit rhyme,
but sit and bin refl ect assonance. The reader’s expecta-
tion that a rhyme may occur, especially within a line of
poetry, enables poets to produce varied effects via
assonance. For instance, a number of poems from the
14th-century ALLITERATIVE REVIVAL employ assonance
and ALLITERATION simultaneously, with striking results.
Larry T. Shillock“ASSYRIANS’ KING IN PEACE WITH
FOUL DESIRE, THE” HENRY HOWARD, EARL
OF SURREY (1557) This SONNET was fi rst published
in TOTTEL’S MISCELLANY, 10 years after the execution of
HENRY HOWARD, EARL OF SURREY. This angry and critical
poem is deeply imbedded in its own time.
Surrey was born into a well-established and power-
ful family, the Howards. As he matured, he saw him-
self as a champion of tradition and as an enemy of
those he saw as newly made, many of whom had
become close advisers to HENRY VIII during the latter“ASSYRIANS’ KING IN PEACE WITH FOUL DESIRE, THE’” 33