Criticism and Compliment

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Through a critical analysis of the poetry, plays, and masques from the Caroline era, the author challenges the view that this literature merely served as propaganda for Charles I's absolutism. By reinterpreting these works as reflections of political attitudes at court, he argues that they engage with broader humanist traditions rather than being confined to a specific decade or party. The exploration of love's language reveals how court poets critiqued the King's political ideology while advocating for traditional governance methods.