Literary Criticism (1400-1800)

Henryson, Robert | Charles A. Hallett (essay date January 1973)

Charles A. Hallett (essay date January 1973)

SOURCE: Hallett, Charles A. “Theme and Structure in Henryson's ‘The Annunciation.’” Studies in Scottish Literature X, no. 3 (January 1973): 165-74.

[In the following essay, Hallett analyzes the structure of “The Annunciation” and asserts that it is Henryson's personal examination of divine love in the form of poetry.]

Though Robert Henryson is being rediscovered and the pleasures of his poetry are being appreciated once again as they undoubtedly were in his own time, critical attention has so far been concentrated upon the skillfully written Testament of Cresseid and the witty Fables, while the minor poems, many of which have equal charm, are still largely neglected. Henryson's “The Annunciation” is a case in point. On the surface the poem, I suppose, seems too simple to require explication. It is clearly a poem in praise of the Virgin, and its purpose appears to...

[The entire page is 4295 words long]

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

Lookup any word on eNotes with our dictionary. Highlight the word and press SHIFT + D for a definition, or SHIFT + T for a synonym.