The
Renaissance
The Elizabethan
Age
Wyatt, Sir Thomas
1503-1542
Born in Allington, England, Sir Thomas Wyatt became a man of of
great lyric poetry. Wyatt studied at Cambridge and soon became knighted
in 1536. In
1537, Wyatt was made high sheriff of Kent and later became a courtier and
diplomat for Henry VIII. He went on a number of diplomatic missions to Spain,
France and Italy, giving Wyatt experience with Renaissance poetry. Wyatt was
said to have been involved with Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII“s wife after Catherine
of Aragon, definitely a displeasing situation for Henry. Wyatt was arrested and
imprisoned twice for upsetting the King. Both times he was eventually pardoned.
Later, Wyatt moved back to Kent and wrote poetry. Although Wyatt died in 1542,
his poems were published in Tottel“s Miscellany. Wyatt“s poems helped introduce
the Italian sonnet form to England
and English Literature.
Spenser, Edmund 1552-1599
Edmund Spenser was born and educated in London. He attended Cambridge
University and in 1576 he left to become a noblemen. One of his services
included the Earl of Leicester, which allowed him the opportunity of meeting Sir
Philip Sidney. In the late 1570“s, the two discuss poetry and literature
together. His first work, a series of pastoral poems, was dedicated to Sidney
and was called The Shepherd“s Calendar. In 1580, Spenser went to Ireland
to assist Lord Grey of Wilton, who was Lord Deputy of Ireland. For his
services, Spenser received the Kilcolman Castle, where he settled in 1586.
Spenser spent the rest of his life in Ireland, where he began his major work.
Here, Spenser wrote The Faerie Queen, an immense epic poem in a
deliberate archaic style. This nine-line verse pattern poem created the Spenserian
stanza. The first three books of The Faerie Queen , each over five
thousand lines long, were published 1590, when Spenser was established as
England“s greatest poet. Spenser planned to write fifteen or twenty books of
the The Faerie Queen but only published three additional books
afterwards. In Spenser“s last years, Ireland began to crumble. His castle was
sacked by Irish rebels and he was forced to return to London where he died on
January 13, 1599. Spenser was buried near Chaucer in Westminster Abbey.
Sidney, Sir Philip 1554-1586
Sir Philip Sidney was born in Penshurst, Kent, England and was educated at
Oxford. After his education, Sidney travelled Europe from 1572 to 1575.
A
short period after, Sidney left the English court in 1580. He was then
knighted. He was sent to Holland to help in the war against Spain. Through this
period, Sidney wrote many works including Arcadia, The Defence of Poesie,
Astrophel, and Stella. These works were published posthumously after
his death at the age of 32.
Marlowe, Christopher
1564-1593
Chritopher Marlowe was born in Canterbury, England, two months after the birth of William
Shakespeare. The eldest son of a shoemaker, Marlowe was educated at Cambridge
University on a scholarship given to him by the Archbishop of Canterbury. After
his completion of university in 1587, Marlowe moved to London where he was the
dramatist for an acting company, Admiral“s Men. During the time he spent
writing he produced many great plays including Tamburlaine (1587), The
Jew of Malta (1591) and The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus. Apart
from writing plays and conversing with his friend Sir Walter Raleigh, Marlowe
also served as a secret agent for the Queen. The life of Christopher Marlowe
came to a quick end when he was in a Deptford tavern sharing a drink with other
friends from the secret agency before he was to be captured by the Queen“s
Privy Council. When Marlowe began arguing with Ingram Frizer over who would pay
the bill, Marlowe grabbed a dagger and hit Frizer with the flat end over the
head. In a scuffle that followed, Frizer took the dagger and stabbed Marlowe in
the eye. Marlowe died three days later in London. Because of the timing of
Marlowe“s death and the lack of retribution from the killer, some scholars have
led to believe that Marlowe“s death was faked and he took up a new identity.
This new identity is believed by some to be the identity of William
Shakespeare. This new identity is possible because it is very unlikely that a
time period could emerge to literary geniuses and Shakespeare became famous
after the death of Marlowe. There is also the fact that they were born in the
same year and Shakespeare lived longer than Marlowe. This possibility will
always run through the minds of scholars.
Raleigh, Sir Walter 1552-1618
Sir Walter Raleigh was born in Hayes Barton, Devon, England and was educated at
Oxford. After becoming a favourite of Elizabeth I, Raleigh was knighted (1584)
and was sent on his first expeditions to America. Because of a love affair with
Bessy Throckmorton, one of the Queen“s maids-of-honour, he was sent to the
Tower. When he was released, Raleigh married Bessy and was once again sent to
the Tower (1603) with a death sentence due to his enemies turning King James I
against him. It was while in the Tower that Raleigh wrote History of the
World (1614). When he was once again released, Raleigh journeyed to the
Orinoco to look for a gold mine, which he did not find. With his return to his
home, Raleigh“s death sentence was carried at the age of 66.
Shakespeare, William
1564-1616
William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England, the
eldest of John Shakespeare and Mary Arden“s three sons. Little is known about
Shakespeare“s early years. However, scholars have come to some approximate
dates to the events in Shakespeare“s life. In 1591, Shakespeare moved to London
to become a writer and an actor. During the years of the plague and when the
theatres were closed (1592-1594), Shakespeare wrote many poems including Venus
and Adonis (1592) and The Rape of Lucrece (1593-1594). From then
until 1600, Shakespeare created his sonnets which were not published until
1609. Following his sonnets was another poem, The Phoenix and the Turtle
(1660-1601). While not writing poems, Shakespeare created some of the most
famous plays in the history of English literature. These included Richard II
(1592-1593), The Taming of the Shrew (1593-1594), Romeo and Juliet
(1594-1596), Henry V (1598-1599), Julius Caesar (1599), Hamlet
(1600-1601), Othello (1603-1604), King Lear (1605-1606), Macbeth
(1605-1606), and The Tempest (1611). These are only a few of the 37
plays that Shakespeare published in his life. Among the many works Shakespeare
created, he also had a share in the Globe Theatre and substantial investments
in Stratford real estate. Shakespeare died at the age of 52 and was buried in
Stratford.
De Quincey, Thomas 1785-1850
Thomas De Quincey was a British writer and a critic. He studied at Oxford where
he took opium to cure a toothache and became addicted to it for the rest of his
life. Among his critics is his famous interpretation of Shakespeare“s
Macbeth in which he was puzzled by the knocking of the gate in Act 2, Scene 2-3
after Duncan“s murder. De Quincey is best known for his Confessions of an
English Opium Eater, a book about his drug problem, written in 1822.
Bacon, Francis 1561-1626
Francis Bacon was born in London, England, the son of Sir Nicholas Bacon, and
was educated at Cambridge and Gray“s Inn. After being called to the bar, Bacon
became a Member of Parliament in 1584. Nine years later, Bacon was knighted by
King James I and became the solicitor general in 1607. To follow this position
he became attorney general (1613), privy counsellor (1616), Lord Keeper (1617),
Lord Chancellor (1618), and Baron Verulam (1618). During those same years,
Bacon wrote his most famous works, The Advancement of Learning (1605)
and Novum Organum (1620), both books were written on his philosophy of
science. In 1621, Bacon accepted the position as viscount. However, due to
public accusations that he took bribes, he was fined, imprisoned, and
prohibited from parliament and the court. After being pardoned for his crime,
he refused to return to public office and later died, profoundly in debt, at
the age of 65.
The Jacobean Age
Donne, John
1572-1631
John Donne was born in London, England and was educated at Oxford and
Cambridge. After studying law, Donne was given the position as secretary to Sir
Thomas Egerton. Due to a secret marriage to Egerton“s niece, Donne was
imprisoned. He was also given the choice to either work for the English court
in the church or not work for the court at all. After some time thinking, Donne
decided to go into the Anglican Church. At first he was only a priest but soon
his eminent sermons took him to the position as the Dean of St. Paul“s. He
became well known throughout the public of England. His works continued as he
published many other books on the church. Donne died at the age of 59.
Herbert, George
1593-1633
George Herbert was born in Montgomery Castle, Powys, Wales, U.K., and studied
at Cambridge. In 1919, Herbert became a public orator and later became a Member
of Parliament. In 1930, Herbert joined the church and served as a parish priest
of Bemerton, Wiltshire. During his time as a priest he wrote many poems that
were later collected in The Temple (1633). He also wrote his most famous
prose work during this time, A Priest in the Temple (1652). Herbert died
at the age of 40.
Marvell, Andrew
1621-1678
Andrew Marvell was born in Winestead, Hull, England and was educated at
Cambridge. During the age of 21-25, Marvell travelled across Europe and on his
return to England he worked as a tutor and an assistant to John Milton. His most famous written
work was To His Coy Mistress was written during the same time he worked
for Milton. IN 1659, Marvell became a Member of Parliament and his writing
changed to pamphlets and satires devoted to insulting inconsistent governments.
Marvell died at the age of 57.
Vaughan, Henry 1622-1695
Henry Vaughan was born in Newton-by-Usk, Wales, U.K. and was educated at Oxford
and London. After settling near Brecon, England, Vaughan started his own
practise as a doctor. During his life he wrote many works. His most notable,
however, are Silex Scintillans (1650), and The Mount of Olives
(1652). His works also included many elegies, and translations. Vaughan
died at the age of 73.
Jonson, Benjamin 1572-1637
Benjamin Jonson was born in London, England and was educated at Westminster
School. During his life, Jonson worked as a bricklayer, in the military in
Flanders, and Henslowe“s company of players. In 1598, Jonson preformed his own
play with His Man in His Humour, Shakespeare in the cast. Shortly
after this, Jonson went through a drought in his success. He also published Volpone
(1606), The Silent Women (1609), The Alchemist (1610), and Bartholomew
Fair (1614). Before and after his death at the age of 65, Jonson became an
extensive influence on many 17th century poets.
Herrick, Robert 1591-1674
Robert Herrick was born in London, England and was educated at Cambridge. For a
short period of his life, Herrick worked in Devon but was, however, confined
from living as a royalist (1647). In 1648, Herrick published Hesperides,
a book of his collected poems. Herrick died at the age of 83.
Suckling, Sir John
1609-1642
John Suckling was born in Whitton, Middlesex, England and was educated at
Cambridge. He became involved with politics but this the intrigue went on to
lead him to leave his country. Suckling wrote plays that were very austere, for
instance his Aglaura (1637). Nevertheless, his lyrics were
successful. His lyrics were published posthumously in Fragmenta aurea
(1646). Suckling died in Paris at the age of 33.
Lovelace, Richard 1618-1657
Richard Lovelace was born in England and was educated at Oxford. His evolvement
with politics caused him to spend some time imprisoned. Later in his life,
Lovelace left England to help France capture Dunkirk for Spain. When he
reappeared in England, Lovelace was once again imprisoned in 1648. It was
during his time spent in prison that Lovelace wrote many of his poems. Before
his death, his poems were published in Lucasta (1649). Lovelace died at
the age of 39.
The Puritan Age
Milton, John
1608-1674
John Milton was born in London, England and was educated at Cambridge and
Horton. In 1629, Milton published one if his most known poems, On The
Morning of Christ“s Nativity, a poem that is still read during the
Christmas season. It was during the time he spent at Horton that Milton wrote L“Allegro
and Il Penseroso, Comus, and Lycidas. After taking part in the
English Civil War, Milton published Poems (1645). During the 1640“s, Milton began publishing pamphlets and the he followed them with 20 years of
silence except a few sonnets here and there. The Silence came when Milton was blinded and he
began contemplating his greatest work, Paradise Lost. This long poem was
succeeded by Paradise Regained, and Samson Agonistes. Milton died
at the age of 66.
Bunyan, John 1628-1688
John Bunyan was born in Elstow, Bedfordshire, England. During the English Civil
War (1644-1645), Bunyan fought as a tinker on the parliamentary side. Later,
Bunyan merged into a Christian fellowship and spread the word of the Christian
God around Bedford. After being arrested in 1660, Bunyan began to write in his
cell. During the twelve years spent in prison, he published Grace Abounding
(1666), and Declaration of Indulgence (1672). Shortly after he was
released, Bunyan was once again imprisoned for six months. During this time he
published the beginning of The Pilgrim“s Progress. When the Bedford,
prison ceased to be his home. Bunyan returned to being a pastor in Bedford for
16 more years. It was also at this time that he wrote the second part to The
Pilgrim“s Progress (1684). Bunyan died at the age of 60.
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