The Poetics of Inconstancy

The transformation of Late Petrarchism from earlier stages reflects a profound shift in cultural values - a 'crisis of the Renaissance' that generated new perspectives in poetic theory and practice. Broadly this book identifies a distinctive 'poetics of inconstancy' that came to the fore at the end of the sixteenth century and pervaded the love verse of the age. At the same time as a study based on the inductive method the book takes as its point of departure a single poet: Etienne Durand. Because of his frequently anthologized 'Stances à l'Inconstance' Durand is often singled out as 'the poet of inconstancy.' This study however identifies the theme of universal change as a hallmark of Durand's contemporaries as well - a signal of a stylistic revolution that heralded the end of Renaissance verse.