English Metrical Psalms: poetry, politics and pop music - Dr Amy Morris

These lectures explore the rich tradition of English metrical psalmody in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The first lecture contextualises psalm versions by Wyatt and others into the literary, political and theological context of Renaissance England and focuses in particular on the Psalms' complex relationship with monarchy. The second lecture traces the Reformation quest to replace profane songs with holy and educational psalms, and continues to explore the controversies over the church psalter in the seventeenth century. The third lecture investigates the enriching connection between metrical psalm translation and English Renaissance literature.