Renaissance writers, Renaissance Studies, English poets, verse exchanges, antisocial, moral, philosophical, theological, factional

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influences in the Renaissance, and it should be added that the theory and practice of civil conduct also played a significant role in shaping the dynamics of conversational poetry. Any critical approach to Renaissance poetics ought to be as mindful of the interactive, conversational tendencies of Renaissance writers as they were themselves. Awareness of their anticipation and provocation of answers and of poets’ compulsion to respond to the work of others is fundamental to an understanding of their mindset, of how they perceive themselves in relation to their audience and their wider culture.

Conversational poetry appeared in a diversity of spaces in the Renaissance, from print to manuscript, from graffiti on walls and the sides of houses (see Cat. W 308-9) to wit combats attributed to some of the most respected English poets of the day, from ballads papering tavern walls ⁴⁴⁴ to verse exchanges etched into windows at court (see Cat. E 118), and from verses sallied back and forth between balladeers to ones involving masters and pupils in places of education (see Cat. Anon 29, C 96-7, H 156, J 182, L 199-201, P 228, S 268, W 304, W 310). At court, the Inns and Universities it is even possible to imagine that verse exchanges formed part of the common currency of educational life. Perhaps the strongest argument then, that the answer-poem should enjoy an important place in Renaissance Studies, is the importance attributed to it by men and women of the Renaissance themselves.

Verse exchanges provide opportunities for self-display, as poets situate themselves performatively in relation to particular moral, philosophical, theological or factional outlooks as either displays of patriotism or personal accomplishment, thereby singling themselves out as right-thinking and valuable members of society. Whether examining antisocial exchanges of abuse, courtship exchanges or verses exchanged between friends it

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