Thomas Watson's 'Hekatompathia or Passionate Centurie of Love' (1582): A facsimile edition with notes and commentary

This dissertation comprises the text of Watson's Hekatompathia interleaved with notes and commentary designed to pinpoint Watson's sources and examine his techniques for translating these into his own poetry.;The notes establish Watson's place in the literary and artistic traditions of Western Europe, highlighting his interest in such topics as philosophy, music, astronomy, numerology, cryptography, natural history, and revealing the complex relationship of erotic passion and misogyny.;Hailed as a successor of Petrarch and an English Ronsard, Watson also owes much to Ovid, Pliny, Sophocles, Serafino, the Strozzis, etc. The Hekatompathia is a rich field for the study of intertextuality. Watson's contemporaries hoped he would emulate the poets of the Pleiade, importing the best of classical literature into the vernacular. The Hekatompathia, emphasizing the sufferings of unrequited love, became a paradigm for the sonnet sequences of the 1590's.;The Introduction offers a biography of Watson, based partly on previous sources but also incorporating some original research. It differs in many respects from the account of Watson given in the Dictionary of National Biography, including a suggestion for a different date of birth. Chapter Two discusses the whole Watson canon including works lost or misattributed. Chapter Three examines the Hekatompathia itself, and describes the manuscript, the printed editions, the title, structure of the sequence, Watson's poetic methods and use of sources. Chapter Four describes Watson's relationships with other contemporary literary figures, including Spenser, Shakespeare, and the Sidney circle.;Three appendices include respectively: arguments and documentation for the biography in Chapter One; a complete list of the Watson canon; and texts of Watson's lengthier sources. Two bibliographies are given: one listing works and specific editions that Watson may reasonably be presumed to have read, based on his use of these sources; the other is the usual list of works consulted.