John Sheffield, who became the first Duke of Buckingham and Normanby, lived from 8 September 1647 to 24 February 1721, though older records occasionally create uncertainty about dates because of the calendar conventions and genealogical habits of the period. He was a nobleman, naval officer, soldier, courtier, politician, patron, critic, playwright, memoirist, and poet. Such a catalogue of roles can make him seem les…
“I took the liberty to represent to him what a ridiculous story it would make, should we return without fighting.”
Neighbourhood:
Georgian Poets, Light Verse Poets, Love Poets, Restoration Poets
Emotional landscape: Longing, Tenderness, Sorrow
John Gay, born on 30 June 1685 in Barnstaple, Devon, and dead in London on 4 December 1732, occupies a distinctive place in the literature of the early eighteenth century. He was a poet, dramatist, librettist, fabulist, journalist, and observer of urban life, but none of these labels fully contains him. His greatest achievement, The Beggar’s Opera, changed the history of English theatre by making songs familiar to or…
Neighbourhood:
Georgian Poets, Light Verse Poets, Satirical Poets
Emotional landscape: Irony, Wonder, Tenderness
