The ''Poly-Olbion'' is a

topographical poem Topographical poetry or loco-descriptive poetry is a genre of poetry that describes, and often praises, a landscape or place. John Denham's 1642 poem "Cooper's Hill" established the genre, which peaked in popularity in 18th-century England. Exam ...

describing

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. Written by

Michael Drayton Michael Drayton (1563 – 23 December 1631) was an English poet who came to prominence in the Elizabethan era. He died on 23 December 1631 in London. Early life Drayton was born at Hartshill, near Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England. Almost nothin ...

(1563–1631) and published in 1612, it was reprinted with a second part in 1622. Drayton had been working on the project since at least 1598.

Content

The ''Poly-Olbion'' is divided into thirty songs, written in

alexandrine Alexandrine is a name used for several distinct types of verse line with related metrical structures, most of which are ultimately derived from the classical French alexandrine. The line's name derives from its use in the Medieval French '' Rom ...

couplets, consisting in total of almost 15,000 lines of verse. Drayton intended to compose a further part to cover

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, but no part of this work is known to have survived. Each song describes between one and three counties, describing their topography,

tradition A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

s and histories. Copies were illustrated with

map A map is a symbolic depiction emphasizing relationships between elements of some space, such as objects, regions, or themes. Many maps are static, fixed to paper or some other durable medium, while others are dynamic or interactive. Although ...

s of each county, drawn by William Hole, whereon places were depicted

anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

ally. The first book was accompanied by historical and philological summaries written by

John Selden John Selden (16 December 1584 – 30 November 1654) was an English jurist, a scholar of England's ancient laws and constitution and scholar of Jewish law. He was known as a polymath; John Milton hailed Selden in 1644 as "the chief of learned ...

. Because of its length and its author's conflicting goals the ''Poly-Olbion'' was almost never read as a whole, but is an important source for the period nevertheless. Drayton strained to combine correct scientific information about Britain (mostly contained in Selden's commentary) with his desire to provide as many memorial anchors to the elusive ancient

Celtic Britons The Britons ( *''Pritanī'', la, Britanni), also known as Celtic Britons or Ancient Britons, were people of Celtic language and culture who inhabited Great Britain from at least the British Iron Age and into the Middle Ages, at which point th ...

, Druids, Bards, and

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...

as possible.Richard Utz, "Hic iacet Arthurus? Situating the Medieval King in Renaissance Memory," ''Studies in Medievalism'' 15 (2006), 26-40; "'There Are Places We Remember': Situating the Medieval Past in Postmedieval Cultural Memories," in ''Transfiguration'' 6.2 (2004), 89-108.

Bibliography

*William H. Moore,
Poly-Olbion Summary
' *Oliver Elton, ''Michael Drayton; a Critical Study, with a Bibliography''

References

{{reflist

External links

''Poly-Olbion''
in ''The Complete Works of Michael Drayton'', vol. 3 (London, 1876)
The Children's Poly-Olbion: A Heritage Lottery funded arts and education project introducing Drayton to children across the UK and commissioning new art work based on Poly-OlbionExeter University: Poly-Olbion Project
1612 poems 1622 poems British poems

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See also

Bibliography

References

External links