Seven Minor Epics of the English Renaissance (1596-1624)

In Short

This collection gathers seven distinct "epyllions," or minor epics, published between 1596 and 1624. These narrative poems typically take a single classical episode—such as the transformation of Myrrha into a myrrh tree or the ill-fated romance of Pyramus and Thisbe—and expand it into a dense, atmospheric, and highly stylized experience. They endure because they capture a specific moment in literary history when poets experimented with the limits of descriptive language, testing how much emotional weight and visual detail a single stanza could carry.

The Story

The collection opens with stories of star-crossed love that follow the established patterns of Ovidian tragedy. In Pyramus and Thisbe, the narrative tracks two young lovers whose devotion is so absolute that it transcends their humble, doomed environment, leading them to a classic, blood-stained end in a forest clearing. Similarly, The Love of Dom Diego and Ginevra explores the intense, almost paralyzing power of attraction. Diego, a young man who falls instantly in love, is caught in a cycle of longing that manifests as a physical illness. He spends his days carving his misery into the landscape, treating every stone and tree as a witness to his devotion, until he and Ginevra finally overcome the obstacles preventing their union.

The collection then shifts into more turbulent, darker waters. William Barksted’s Mirrha recounts the harrowing and transgressive story of a daughter’s incestuous desire for her father. The poem is a fever dream of psychological torment, where the protagonist vacillates between shame and an irrepressible, "lustful fire." Her path is one of inevitable destruction; she attempts to write letters, she deceives, and she ultimately chooses to end her life, only to be transformed by the gods into a tree that forever weeps resinous tears.

The tone shifts again with Hiren, where the stakes are geopolitical and religious. Here, a Christian woman is captured and brought to the tent of the powerful Mahomet. The narrative focuses on the clash between her steadfast, "gray-haired purity" and the overwhelming, sensory-rich enticements of her captor. Mahomet is a figure of absolute authority who attempts to bypass her moral defenses with the seductive power of gold, music, and rhetoric, arguing that beauty is a divine right and that religion is merely a barrier to happiness.

Finally, the collection returns to the themes of illicit desire and transformation in The Scourge of Venus. This piece delves into the consequences of human passion, tracing how internal "leaden-thoughted" moods drive characters toward disaster. It serves as both a retelling of myth and a cautionary tale about the volatility of the human heart. Each story arc functions as a descent: the lovers begin in a state of high, poetic intensity, proceed through a period of profound internal or external conflict, and reach a resolution that is rarely quiet, often ending in a metamorphosis or a permanent state of exile from the ordinary world.

How It Unfolds

The initial meeting The poems frequently begin with the sudden, violent arrival of love, which strikes the protagonists as an unexpected sickness or a divine intrusion. Whether in a garden or a royal tent, the encounter is described through the lens of heightened sensory detail, focusing on blushes, glances, and the "dumb ambassadors" of the eyes.

The internal struggle Characters face a period of agonizing reflection where they debate their own desires against the backdrop of morality and fate. These moments are often played out in solitude, with protagonists writing letters, weeping, or speaking to the landscape, creating a mirror for their own internal turmoil.

The confrontation External obstacles, such as lions, angry parents, or opposing political powers, force the characters into a final, decisive action. The tension is frequently heightened by the presence of a "nurse" or a manipulative intermediary who urges the protagonist to abandon their reservations.

The final transformation The narratives conclude with a shift in physical form or status, as the gods intervene to resolve the irreconcilable tensions of the plot. Whether it is a lover turning into a flower or a mortal meeting a tragic end, the resolution provides a sense of finality that marks the transition from human life to eternal symbol.

The People

These poems are populated by figures who exist in a state of constant, heightened emotion. Thisbe is the archetype of the innocent, whose life is defined by her beauty and her swift, fearful movements through the woods. Dom Diego serves as the quintessential "love's apprentice," a man so thoroughly consumed by his affection that he loses the ability to eat or drink, living only on the "heavenly food" of his beloved’s gaze. Myrrha is a much more complex and disturbing figure; she is a woman trapped by a "strange conceit" that overpowers her sense of self, leading her into a cycle of sin and desperate, futile attempts to hide her own nature. Mahomet represents the destructive force of absolute power; he believes that his rank and wealth should be able to purchase or command any heart, and he is genuinely confused when his captive remains unmoved by his displays of luxury. Each character is defined by their singular, overwhelming desire, which isolates them from the rest of the world and ultimately forces them into a state of permanent, non-human existence.

In Its Own Voice

"For in the pride of sommers parching heat, / When children play and dally in the street, / Yong Thisbe seuerd from the common sort, / As gentle nurture lothes each rusticke sport, / Went to an arbour, arbours then were greene."

This description of Thisbe setting out to gather flowers captures the pastoral, idyllic beginning of a tragedy that will soon turn dark.

"I know not what, sends to I know not whom / Such health that thou maist only giue to me, / Which if I want, my life cannot be long, / Euen that same health thy louer sends to thee."

These lines, taken from a letter written by the desperate Myrrha, reveal the strained, frantic tone of a character who is trying to conceal her identity while begging for a forbidden love.

What It's Really About

At their core, these epics examine the dangerous intersection of beauty and fate. They ask whether human beings have any agency when confronted with the "irresisted force of purest love." The poems argue that passion is a volatile, transformative power that exists outside of social or moral logic, often acting as a "scourge" that strips away the veneer of civilization. The underlying question throughout is how much of one’s identity can survive the total surrender to desire. By framing these stories within classical mythology, the poets explore the idea that human emotion is not merely a private, modern experience but a recurring, eternal struggle that has always required the gods to intervene and resolve.

Why Read It Today

Readers who appreciate the dense, musical language of the Renaissance—where a single description of a scarf can take up an entire stanza—will find much to admire here. The experience of reading these poems is one of immersion; they are slow, deliberate, and saturated with a specific, melancholic beauty that is rarely found in modern verse.

However, prospective readers should be prepared for the difficulties inherent in the period’s writing. The prose is archaic, the orthography is idiosyncratic, and the typography in some of the original printings is notoriously messy, which can occasionally obscure the meaning. Furthermore, the attitudes toward gender, consent, and morality reflect the social anxieties of the early 1600s, which can be jarring to contemporary sensibilities. You will encounter themes of incest and abduction that are treated with a cold, almost detached aestheticism.

If you are willing to navigate these challenges, you will be rewarded with a rare glimpse into the "minor" masterpieces of an age obsessed with the grandeur of the human spirit. What stays with you is not just the plot, but the sheer, defiant intensity of these characters as they try—and fail—to reconcile their deepest passions with a world that refuses to accommodate them.