Robert Henryson

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter offers a detailed exploration of the style and form of Henryson’s poems. It suggests that Henryson harnesses form to subject matter to encourage spiritual and moral growth and the development of reason and good judgement. His mastery of a number of forms, including rhyme royal, tail-rhyme, and alliterative verse enables him to encourage interpretive alertness in his readers. The chapter also examines Henryson’s manipulation of registers, from the idiomatic and proverbial to the specialist and technical, and the richness of his descriptive language. It argues that these are testimony to Henryson’s belief in the transformative power of poetry.