The Artistic Character And The Historical Significance Of John Dowland’s Lute Song

This paper analyzes and studies the Lute songs composed by John Dowland， Englishcomposer in the16th century. Firstly, the paper presents the general situation ofdevelopment of English Lute songs during Renaissance and his artistic career. Then thepaper divides the artistic career of John Dowland into three composing periods according tothe different styles and analyzes lyrics, relationship of lyrics and melody, structure of therepresentative works in each period. Finally, the paper analyzes and criticizes JohnDowland’s artistic pursuit, historical and aesthetical value of his works. In a word, theauthor research in depth John Dowland’s Lute songs as well as artistic achievement.