Elizabethan Sonnet Cycles: Phillis - Licia

"Elizabethan Sonnet Cycles: Phillis - Licia" by Giles Fletcher and Thomas Lodge is a gathering of poems from the late 19th century that puts together the rhymes of two well-known poets from the Elizabethan times: Lodge’s "Phillis" and Fletcher’s "Licia". The poems look at love, beauty, and hard feelings using sonnets. Both collections of sonnets show people as perfect, which was a popular thing to do when talking about love back then, engaging readers in a world full of courtly love. The start of the book gives a complete look at the history and writing style during the time of Elizabethan sonnets, telling why the sonnet form was so well-liked and how sonnet cycles began in the late 1500s. It also shares how poets changed the original Italian sonnet, the common subjects they wrote about, and a peek into Lodge's life and creations. The introduction prepares readers for the poems, which are full of deep emotions the poets hold for their muses, Phillis and Licia, setting a tone that investigates romance, sadness, and artistic attempts. All this information helps everyone to understand and enjoy the profoundness of the poems included in the anthology.