Searching for an introduction to the poetry of [[John Skelton]] (1460-1529) I came across this critical appraisal by Arthur Kinney, which provides an in depth commentary to some of his most well known poems, however Kinney has his own perspective on the poetry and launches almost straight away into his appreciation of "The Bowge of Courte" one of Skelton's longer and I soon found myself getting lost.

When approaching a new-to-me poet or author I invariably hesitate between either launching into the novels/poems, or starting with a biography or critical appreciation. Skelton is a well anthologised poet and I have read snippets of his poems from time to time, but Kinney's book initially appeared fairly daunting, however I persevered and after finishing his book I feel I am better prepared to read some of Skelton's longer poems. Skelton is of great interest to lovers of English poetry because he is the first major poet in the canon after Chaucer and Gower and fills a gap until the Elizabethan poetry of [[Thomas Wyatt]] and [[Henry Howard Earl of Surrey]]. Some critics have said that this is his only claim to fame and at first glance this could appear to be the case. Robert Graves imitated his style in providing a summary of his work that many would agree with:

But angrily, wittily,
Tenderly, prettily
Laughingly, learnedly,
Sadly, madly,
Helter-skelter John
Rhymes serenely on,
As English poets should.
Old John, you do me good.
(Robert Graves)

This rather light hearted approach to the poems is challenged by Kinney who says that to appreciate the poetry one must understand that Skelton was first and foremost a priest and a conservative, catholic one at that. His poems contained messages in a code that the courtiers and clerics surrounding Henry VIII would immediately comprehend, but would be lost to the modern reader. Kinney says that in his major poems Skelton incorporates scraps of Church liturgy, a liturgy that was as familiar to him as it would be to many others at the Tudor court, he wrote them as a priest and they were intended to instruct in the catholic religion. Knowing this the modern reader can understand a little of what Skelton was doing, but an in depth appreciation of the many references that Kinney points up is probably beyond most of us who are not scholars of the period.

Skelton was also a political poet at a time when Henry VIII was launching the reformation. He had been tutor to the young Henry but when he became heir to the throne Skelton was dismissed from his post and appointed as rector of Diss, which was a thriving commercial town in East Anglia (England) and not too far from the court at Westminster. Around 1513 he was back in favour and again at court where he became the self styled poet-laureate. He was soon at loggerheads with Cardinal Wolsey and much of his latter poems castigated the Cardinals style of living and his lack of attention to the church liturgy and his bad influence on the King. All of these details can be gleaned from Kinney's book which does in the end provide a good context for the poems.

Arthur Kinney's book does in the end serve both as a critical appraisal of the poetry and provides some background to the life and times of Skelton, it does however, have a nuanced approach to his subject, which some readers might find difficult to grasp. I am glad I read it and am looking forward to getting to grips with some of Skelton's poems. A three star read. ( )