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
In the flickering light of Elizabethan England, where the flames of religious persecution cast long shadows over the realm of Queen Elizabeth I, Robert Southwell stands as one of the most compelling figures in English literary and spiritual history. Born around 1561 and executed in 1595 at the tender age of thirty-three or thirty-four, Southwell was at once a Jesuit priest risking everything for his faith, a clandest…
Neighbourhood:
Death & Mortality, Devotional Poets, Elizabethan Poets, Metaphysical Poets, Mystical & Spiritual Poets, Renaissance Poets
Emotional landscape: Sorrow, Despair, Fear