In the grand tapestry of English Renaissance poetry, few figures occupy such a fascinating yet underexplored position as Thomas Vaux, 2nd Baron Vaux of Harrowden. Born into privilege and immersed in the turbulent court life of Henry VIII, Vaux emerged as one of the early Tudor poets whose work would bridge the medieval and modern worlds of English verse. His life, spanning the transformative years from 1509 to 1556,…
“I humbly require you to be good unto me. I have as I perceive a great many more foes than friends, and am like, your goodness reserved, to be trodden under the feet and to be made a slave.”
Neighbourhood:
Death & Mortality, Elizabethan Poets, Love Poets, Medieval Poets, Renaissance Poets
Emotional landscape: Despair, Sorrow, Longing
Sir Walter Raleigh, born about 1554 at Hayes Barton in the parish of East Budleigh, Devon, and executed in London on 29 October 1618, remains one of the most vivid and contradictory figures of the English Renaissance. He was a soldier, imperial promoter, courtier, colonial entrepreneur, naval commander, politician, prisoner, historian, scientist, and poet. In popular memory he is often reduced to a picturesque legend…
“Whosoever commands the sea commands the trade; whosoever commands the trade of the world commands the riches of the world, and consequently the world itself.”
Neighbourhood:
Death & Mortality, Elizabethan Poets, Love Poets, Nature Poets, Renaissance Poets
Emotional landscape: Sorrow, Despair, Spirituality
