Background
William Dunbar was born about 1460. He implies that he was born in the province of Lothian, United Kingdom, and he is proud of his English speech, which contrasted with the Gaelic speech of the West country.
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The Complete Works (Middle English Texts)
(Scottish poet William Dunbar is usually considered one of...)
Scottish poet William Dunbar is usually considered one of the most important figures of fifteenth-century British literature, and may lay claim to being the finest lyric poet writing in English in the century and half between the death of Chaucer in 1400 and the appearance of Tottel's Miscellany in 1557. Dunbar's poems offer vivid depictions of late medieval Scottish society and serve up a striking pageant of colorful figures at the court of James IV (r. 1488-1513), with which he was associated for much of his adult life. The poems are remarkable both for their diversity and variability and for their multiplicity of voices, styles, and tones. The great variety of poems within Dunbar's canon includes religious hymns of exaltation, moral poems on a wide range of serious themes, comic and parodic poems of extreme salaciousness and scatological coarseness, general satires against the times, and satires with much more specific targets, often a single individual. This edition of eighty-four poems attributed to Dunbar includes extensive background material and explanatory notes that are sure to be of interest to students and Dunbar enthusiasts alike. The edition is rounded out with textual notes, an index of first lines, and a glossary.
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The poems of William Dunbar
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William Dunbar: Poems (Clarendon Mediaeval & Tudor Series)
(This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)
This book was originally published prior to 1923, and represents a reproduction of an important historical work, maintaining the same format as the original work. While some publishers have opted to apply OCR (optical character recognition) technology to the process, we believe this leads to sub-optimal results (frequent typographical errors, strange characters and confusing formatting) and does not adequately preserve the historical character of the original artifact. We believe this work is culturally important in its original archival form. While we strive to adequately clean and digitally enhance the original work, there are occasionally instances where imperfections such as blurred or missing pages, poor pictures or errant marks may have been introduced due to either the quality of the original work or the scanning process itself. Despite these occasional imperfections, we have brought it back into print as part of our ongoing global book preservation commitment, providing customers with access to the best possible historical reprints. We appreciate your understanding of these occasional imperfections, and sincerely hope you enjoy seeing the book in a format as close as possible to that intended by the original publisher.
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William Dunbar
Edit ProfileEducation
William Dunbar received a master of arts degree from St. Andrews University in 1479.
Career
In 1500 William Dunbar was granted an annual pension of £10 by James IV, most likely in recognition for his services as a court poet. Dunbar was probably in England during the winter of 1501 in connection with the negotiations for the marriage between King James and Princess Margaret. Dunbar's most famous poem is perhaps "The Thistle and the Rose, " an allegory in the Chaucerian manner, probably written in 1502 to celebrate the impending marriage between James and Margaret.
The poet took holy orders in 1504 and may have written "In May as that Aurora did upspring" at about this time. This poem, which is in the form of a debate between a merle and a nightingale, celebrates love for God.
The following years produced a number of occasional poems-one on the birth of Margaret's first child, petitions to the King for increased aid, and a satire on a court physician and alchemist.
In 1507 Dunbar's pension was increased to £20 and in 1510 to the substantial sum of £80. There is no record of the poet after the Battle of Flodden (1513), and he probably died a few years after that disaster for the Scottish court.
During his last years he may have written his devotional poems, some of which, like the Christmas poem "Rorate celi desuper" and the aureate hymn to the Blessed Virgin "Hale, sterne superne, hale in eterne, " are extremely effective.
Among Dunbar's more famous longer pieces is the satire The Tretis of the Tua Mariit Wemen and the Wedo. The poet overhears a nocturnal conversation among three attractive ladies whose tongues have been loosened by wine. The two married women describe the shortcomings of their husbands in very frank language, and the widow, who bears some resemblance to Chaucer's Wife of Bath, reveals her wiles.
One of the more attractive moral pieces attributed to Dunbar, reminiscent of Chaucer's "Truth, " is "Without glaidnes avalis no tresure, " in which the poet assures his readers that if they are just and joyful, Truth will make them strong.
Achievements
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William Dunbar wrote satirical, occasional, and devotional works. Although he is conventionally numbered among the Scottish Chaucerians, he owed a great deal to the traditions of French poetry.
He was closely associated with the court of King James IV and produced a large body of work in Scots distinguished by its great variation in themes and literary styles.
Works
book
-
The Complete Works (Middle English Texts)
(Scottish poet William Dunbar is usually considered one of...)
-
William Dunbar: Poems (Clarendon Mediaeval & Tudor Series)
(This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)
- The poems of William Dunbar
-
The Complete Works (Middle English Texts)
