The Prose Style of John Lyly

Lyly's prose style, especially that of Euphues', has been studied so often and so exhaustively in the past that further observations on it are likely to appear impertinent, especially if they attempt no radical reformulation. However, the major work of description has been complete for some decades now, and little has been added except for occasional further explorations into the literary origins of Euphuism. It may, therefore, be useful to glance once again at this familiar territory, with two objects in view: first, to try to correlate certain categories of Lyly's style with categories of meaning, and second, to restate some general principles governing all of his prose which may help to erase the sharp line customarily drawn between the style of Euphues and that of the plays. Clarence Child and Morris Croll, whose studies of Lyly climaxed those of nineteenth century investigators like Landmann, defined Euphuism primarily as an ornamental verbal pattern, characterized by the use of the so-called figures of sound rather than by figures of thought. Croll's description may serve as a basis for comment

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  Leah Scragg•English Studies•2005

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