Richard Barnefield, baptized on 29 June 1574 and buried in 1627, occupies a small but remarkably provocative place in the history of English Renaissance poetry. He was not among the most prolific writers of the Elizabethan age, nor did he sustain a public literary career over decades as Edmund Spenser, Ben Jonson, or William Shakespeare did. Yet the poems he published during a brief period in the 1590s have continued…
“This protestation (I hope) will satisfie th' indifferent: and as for them that are maliciously enuious, as I cannot, so I care not to please.”
Neighbourhood:
Cavalier Poets, Elizabethan Poets, LGBTQ+ Poets
Emotional landscape: Sensuality, Longing, Wonder
In the grand tapestry of English Renaissance literature, certain figures shine with the brilliant intensity of supernovae, their light reaching across centuries with undiminished power. Others burn with a steadier, more contemplative flame, their contributions no less significant but perhaps more subtle in their enduring influence. Samuel Daniel belongs decidedly to this latter category—a poet whose measured verse an…
“Custom that is before all Law, Nature that is above all Art.”
Neighbourhood:
Devotional Poets, Dramatic Poets, Elizabethan Poets, Love Poets, Renaissance Poets
Emotional landscape: Longing, Tenderness, Sorrow
