Power in Verse

Power in Verse: Metaphor and Metonymy in the Renaissance Lyric, Volume 1, examines the stylistic evolution of English lyric poetry from the mid-Tudor period through the post-Elizabethan era. Jane Hedley applies Roman Jakobson's semiotic theory to analyze three distinct phases of poetic development. This scholarly work in English poetry and history and criticism traces the shift from the metonymic tendencies of Wyatt and Surrey to the metaphoric dominance of the Elizabethan Golden Age.

The text investigates how poets like Donne and Jonson utilized metonymy to redefine the status of poesy for new audiences. By reviewing contemporary treatises and poetic practice, Power in Verse: Metaphor and Metonymy in the Renaissance Lyric, Volume 1, provides a detailed study of Renaissance poetics. This academic volume explores the intersection of metaphor, metonyms, and linguistic theory within the context of English language history and Renaissance literature.