Short notes on Stephen Hawes and his poems

Short notes on Stephen Hawes,Stephen Hawes and his poems  

Short notes on Stephen Hawes and his poems  

The last important name among the English Chaucerians is Stephen Hawes. He wrote towards the end of the fifteenth century and in the opening of the sixteenth, at a time when the courtly poetry of the Chaucerian tradition had become almost antiquated. In fact, Stephen Hawes is found the last exponent of that great tradition.

Hawes, who had his education at Oxford, is the author of several works. His most important works is the "The Pastime" (Passetyme) of Pleasure (written about 1505-06). The theme here is both allegorical and didactic. The next important works include The Example of Virtue, probably written much earlier (in 1503-04). This is also allegorical and didactic. The work presents a complete allegory of the life of man from his youth to age. The Conversion of Swearess, written a little before 1509, is a noble work, of course, from the technical standpoint, by Hawes. The author is also didactic here.

Hawes's other works include A Joyful Meditation to all England of the Coronation of Henry the Eighth (1509) and The Comfort of Lovers (date unknown). Both these works bear out his technical sophistry as also didactic notes.

Hawes's poetry, no doubt, has medieval limitations, such as long digressions, debates, and moralization. But the allegorical and symbolic aspect of his poetry is noteworthy and it anticipates in some way Spenser. His versification is exclusively Chaucerian with rarely occasional variations. His couplets are quite popular, occasionally decasyllabic couplets, although they are not always as much balanced as Chaucer's.