Charles Cotton was born on 28 April 1630 at Beresford Hall, near Alstonefield, on the Staffordshire side of the Peak District, and died in London on 16 February 1687. He belonged to that striking generation of English writers whose lives were shaped by civil war, regicide, Restoration, religious division, and the gradual reorganization of literary culture around print, patronage, and metropolitan fashion. Yet Cotton’…
“Let me tell you, here are some colours, contemptible as they seem here, that are very hard to be got; and scarce any one of them, which, if it should be lost, I should not miss and be concerned about the loss of it too, once in the year.”
Neighbourhood:
Cavalier Poets, Light Verse Poets, Love Poets, Nature Poets, Restoration Poets
Emotional landscape: Longing, Sorrow, Despair
In the rich tapestry of seventeenth-century English poetry, William Habington occupies a distinctive position—neither as celebrated as John Donne nor as experimental as George Herbert, yet possessing a unique voice that championed marital love and spiritual devotion with rare sincerity. His story unfolds against the backdrop of religious persecution, political upheaval, and the flowering of Caroline literature, revea…
“In prosperity he gratefully admires the bounty of the Almighty giver, and useth, not abuseth, plenty: but in adversity he remaines unshaken, and like some eminent mountain hath his head above the clouds.”
Neighbourhood:
Cavalier Poets, Love Poets, Metaphysical Poets
Emotional landscape: Tenderness, Peace, Longing
