Selected Poems

Skelton John

John Skelton (1464?-1529) is the first great modern English poet. Immensely proud of his poetic calling, he celebrates in his poems the language itself, in all its richness. He wrote in a vigorous vernacular, taking literary English out of the medieval world and enriching it with new forms and tones. Gerald Hammond's notes and glossary illuminate Skelton's works for the modern reader – but Hammond warns readers to keep their wits about them. Skelton is a poet of verbal ambushes, who still has the power to surprise and shock with his formal inventiveness and his indictments of church, scholars and state His tone can be tender, insinuating, savage and erotic; satire, parody, lyricism and allegory abound.

About the Author

John Skelton was born in Norfolk, probably in 1460, and studied at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. He was awarded the title of Poet Laureate by the university of Oxford in 1488, and by Cambridge in 1493. In 1489 Skelton was appointed court poet to King Henry VII, becoming tutor to the future King Henry VIII in 1496. An ordained priest, Skelton became rector of Diss, in Norfolk, around 1503, a post that he held until his death. He continued to be associated with the court, and in 1512 was given the title of Orator Regius by Henry VIII. His satirical attacks on Cardinal Wolsey seem to have led to him spending the later years of his life in a sanctuary in Westminster. Skelton died in 1529.

Back to the list of books