Dec 27, 2009

Sonnet 19 | Compare and Contrast

1590s: Writers who were not courtiers or nobles had to find a wealthy patron to support them financially. The writer would dedicate his work to the patron and praise him lavishly, in the hope that the nobleman would be sufficiently flattered to further advance the writer’s career. Sometimes writers would be admitted to the patron’s literary or intellectual circles.

Today: Rather than cultivating private patrons, poets and writers often seek sponsorship in the form of grants from government-funded organizations such as the National...