October 2017 – Crimson Miscellany

Henry Howard Biography

A portrait of Henry Howard — Henry Howard, Early of Surrey

Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, was born in Hunsdon, Hertfordshire, England in 1517, as the eldest son to Elizabeth Stafford and Thomas Howard, the duke of Norfolk. Being a descendant of kings from both sides of his family and the eldest son of an important duchy, Howard was raised amongst nobility at Windsor Castle, where historians believe he wrote a majority of his poetry. He became childhood friends with Henry VIII’s illegitimate son Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond, who was also present during his stay at Windsor. Throughout his formative years, Howard was described as brave and prideful, stemming from the vast wealth, powerful political family, and sense of noble “obligation” he was born into. Despite his aristocratic upbringing, he was imprisoned multiple times for crimes such as “striking a courtier” and “breaking the windows of sleeping townspeople” (Norton 661). John Barlow remarked that Howard was “the most foolish proud boy that is in England”. After spending time at the French court with the king, Howard served as a the “Lieutenant General of the King on Sea and Land” during Henry VIII’s wars with France.

Henry Howard’s family had many rivals due to their stance in the political landscape of the time. His father and Henry VIII were both members of the old Catholic aristocracy, whose rule was beginning to be challenged by a wave of reformationist Protestant leaders such as Thomas Cromwell and the Seymour family. After returning from his service in France, Howard found the dying king surrounded by such enemies at court. He further angered the Seymours by blocking a marriage between the two families and asserting that the Howards were the rightful successors of Henry VIII. Paranoid and deathly ill, Henry VIII seen these actions as Howard’s attempt to usurp his throne, and ordered for Henry to be executed under the charges of adultery and treason. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London, beheaded in 1547, and buried in a tomb at Framlingham Church in Suffolk, England.

The tomb of Henry Howard at Framlingham Church

Henry Howard was one of the most influential poets on the coming centuries following his death. Alongside Sir Thomas Wyatt, Howard is credited with creating the sonnet format that utilized unrhymed iambic pentameter which Shakespeare would go on to immortalize. His translations of Virgil’s Aeneid were also recognized as the first time the blank verse style was used in the English language.

Works Cited:

Greenblatt, S. (2012). The Norton Anthology of English Literature. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Co.

Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey. (n.d.). Retrieved October 26, 2017, from https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/henry-howard

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. (2007, January 19). Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey. Retrieved October 26, 2017, from

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henry-Howard-Earl-of-Surrey

The Life of Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey (1517-1547). (n.d.). Retrieved October 26, 2017, from http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/henrybio.htm

Sir Phillip Sydney

Sir Phillip Sidney (1554-1586)

Sir Phillip Sidney was born on November 30, 1554, in Kent, England. He was a knight, patron, poet, and soldier. He was known as to have all the traits of character and personality by Elizabethans, in which they’ve all admired. He was the eldest son of Sir Henry Sidney, lord deputy of Ireland for three times, and Lady Mary Dudley, the daughter of the Duke of Northumberland, and brother of Mary Sidney Herbert.

When young Sidney was ten, he attended the Shrewsbury School. While attending, he met his lifelong friend and biographer, Fulke Greville. Three years later, he transferred to the University of Oxford’s Christ Church College to continue his education. While attending, he learned about the politics of Europe and became familiar with many of Europe’s leading statesmen. He left school without taking a degree and completed his education by extended travels on the Continent. He met many kings, queens, philosophers, and poets while on his travels.

Sidney then joined the diplomatic service as an ambassador to King Charles IX of France. He provided diplomatic services in Europe for Queen Elizabeth, just like his father. In 1580, Sidney’s Protestant convictions led him publicly to disagree with Queen Elizabeth’s projected marriage to the Catholic Duke of Anjou. The Queen wasn’t too happy about the interference with her diplomatic maneuvers, so she dismissed Sidney from the court.

When Sidney retired, he wrote a long, epic romance called “Arcadia”. He wrote this in two forms in which they are known as “Old Arcadia” and “New Arcadia”. When “Old Arcadia” was finished (in five “books”), he began to expand it but it broke off in mid-sentence and was left unfinished. “New Arcadia” was almost three books. In 1593, his sister Mary made changes to the “New Arcadia” and the last two books of “Old Arcadia” and combined them together and published them as one big text. Both the original version and the revision are full of mistaken identify and tangled love situations, but the “New Arcadia” has more of a elevated tone of seriousness.

On October 17th, 1586, Sir Phillip Sidney was killed in battle at the age of thirty-two. His death led to him fighting for the Protestant side in the Battle of Zutphen. He composed a song and had it sung by his deathbed while all of England mourned.

Sir Phillip Sidney’s grave

Fun facts

He wrote one of the first sonnet sequences in English literature and literary criticism in English.
Philip Sidney invented the name Pamela.
Husband of Frances Walsingham.

Ringler, William Andrew. “Sir Philip Sidney.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 21 Aug. 2017, www.britannica.com/biography/Philip-Sidney.

“Sir Philip Sidney.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 17 Oct. 2017, www.biography.com/people/sir-philip-sidney-21397397.

Greenblatt, Stephen. “The Norton Anthology of English Literature.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Ninth ed., B, 2012, pp. 1037–1039.

“Five Fascinating Facts about Sir Philip Sidney.” Google, Google, www.google.com/amp/s/interestingliterature.com/2016/03/04/five-fascinating-facts-about-sir-philip-sidney/amp/.

Sir Thomas Wyatt

Sir Thomas Wyatt

(1503-1542)

Sir Thomas Wyatt was born in 1503 in the Allington Castle, located in Kent, England. He was raised by his mother Anne Skinner and his father Henry Wyatt. Wyatt was a 16th century English politician who attended St. John’s College where he furthered his education in literature. Wyatt is well known for being a lyric poet and also for bringing the sonnet into English literature. Wyatt met his beloved, Elizabeth Brooke at St. John’s College and they eloped in 1520. Wyatt and Elizabeth had two children together but shortly after they eloped they separated and did not make-up until around 1541. Sir Thomas Wyatt was a lot of things, one in being an ambassador to Italy and France for King Henry VIII. As we know, Wyatt was admired for his language skills, however his first duty was to serve King Henry VIII, and keep up with his jewels in 1524. By doing these duties for the king, Wyatt established a role for himself to the king and this is where his role as an ambassador for Rome and France began. At this same time, Wyatt crossed paths with Anne Boleyn, who was soon to be the king’s wife. In a few of Wyatt’s poems especially, “Whoso List to Hunt”, Wyatt seems to be Anne Boleyn’s lover; although we can not accurately determine the state that their relationship reached. Sir Thomas Wyatt was accused of being one of Boleyn’s lovers and was arrested, however only spending one month imprisoned. He restored his relations with King Henry VIII, and is now imprisoned to serving him in offices of England and other rigorous tasks for as long as he lives. Sir Thomas Wyatt suffered from an illness and was pronounced dead on October 11th 1542.

Interesting Facts

Wyatt’s cause of death was from a severe fever
He earned credit for introducing the sonnet to English literature
Ninety-six of his songs were in Songs and Sonnetts, in 1557

“I leave off therefore,
Since in a net I seek to hold the wind.”
-Sir Thomas Wyatt

Works Cited

“Sir Thomas Wyatt, MP.” geni_family_tree, 17 June 2017, www.geni.com/people/Sir-Thomas-Wyatt-MP/6000000003702860714.

“Sir Thomas Wyatt.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/thomas-wyatt.

“The Death of Sir Thomas Wyatt.” The Tudor Enthusiast, thetudorenthusiast.weebly.com/my-tudor-blog/the-death-of-sir-thomas-wyatt.

“Thomas Wyatt.” Poets.org, Academy of American Poets, 24 Apr. 2014, www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/thomas-wyatt.

“Thomas Wyatt > Quotes.” Thomas Wyatt Quotes (Author of Sir Thomas Wyatt, the Complete Poems), www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/623141.Thomas_Wyatt.

Gawain Poem

Warning and Remorse

In this warm and welcome castle, sleep soundly.
The revelry has ended with time to spare for lasting rest,
For the lord and lady of this land, this kindly keep, must
Come morning hunt for themselves a morsel for their savoring.
The princely paladin—your proficient provider—sends to procure
A portly pig. He’ll plant his point where the pool meets the precipice,
Carrying the rightly collected cadaver to cook and contribute in
Account of your corroborated accord: a gift to grant good Gawain in
Christmastime. But the lady has another prey in mind.
Good knight, tonight you lock yourself away to accept
A trial: A more creeping demon than her lovely face implies
seeks to cleverly dishonor you in all your knightly glory.
Her seductive glare—sent to test your chivalrous wit—
Is masked by a gentle, courtly allure. Your veracity would be her meal,
Drawn from your lips like the blood of the delicious swine, though a venom to kill the truth: the troth you profess in all sincerity.
The husband
hunts for vicious beasts
In the early morning dew.
Will you become a pleasant feast
For his wife to seek and chew?

The scratch on your nape will scar with the smart of your sin.
The green sash with which you replaced the Ephesians’ Belt
girded you with far fewer promises and protections.
Had you held wholly to your holy behavior, your flinching furrows
would never have feared the floor. When you learned of Bertilak
and his beautiful bride’s arrangement, did you find yourself
outmaneuvered or dishonored? Bested or proven less than knightly?
Carry home the axe and dress the broken pentangle with the memory
Of your fallacy, the ornamental gift you never gave in recompense.
But return to your King. The Table will surely slay the fatted calf
In celebration of their fellow knight’s return from a most assured demise.
Tell them the tale of Sir Gawain, the nephew that overcame the beast and fell to himself. Let them know the shame you bear, for they will share in your failures.
Gawain,
The Green Knight sealed away
Your place at Arthur’s side.
But by the shame of that sash’s sway
In humility you’ll reside.

Lady Mary Wroth

Lady Mary Wroth, born (probably) on October 18, 1587 was the “first Englishwomen to complete a sonnet sequence as well as an original work of prose fiction”. Unlike many female poets of her time Wroth pushed the envelope of secular love poetry and romance. In 1621 she published The Countesse of Mountgomeries Urania which would go on to become one of her most famous literary works.

Wroth grew up in a prominent English family. Her father, ( Sir Robert Sidney) and her uncle (Sir Philip Sidney) were both well know poets of their time. Mary’s aunt (who was also her godmother) had a major affect on her life as well. Her aunt lived in a country estate where she would invite many patronages of the arts to come and visit which inspired Mary to become a poet herself.

Wroth had a very informal education but it was said that ” “she [was] very forward in her learning, writing, and other exercises she is put to” “. We also assume that in the time of her education she learned French.

Mary eventually married Sir Robert Wroth on September 27, 1604 and the two never really got along. He was not at all interested in the arts and so the two never had any common ground. However he was knighted by James I in 1603 and became in the kings favor, and even though her marriage was unhappy it served as the backdrop to many of her works, and because her husband was in good standing with the king she got to experience life at court often, which also influenced her writing. After ten years of marriage the two finally had a son in February of 1614 named James and soon after his birth Robert Wroth died leaving with her with a large amount of money and an even larger amount of debt, and to make matters worse in the summer of 1616 James, her son died. Her problems only seemed to worsen for she had started an affair with her first cousin the Earl of Pembroke who also happened to be a poet.

Wroth continued to write into her later years which we don’t know much about. We do know that she died between 1651 to 1653 and continued to pay off debt until she died.

Bibliography

“Lady Mary Wroth.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/mary-wroth.

“Lady Mary Wroth.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Oct. 2017, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Mary_Wroth.

Das, Nandini. “Lady Mary Wroth: Biography.” English Faculty, www.english.cam.ac.uk/wroth/biography.htm.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Map

Sir Gawain had many adventures on his journey to meet his fate with the Green Knight.

He starts the tale in the lively court of Camelot during Yuletide festivities (Line 37).

He remains here until November 1 and then sets off (Line 536).

Our gallant knight rides through the English lands (lines 691-96).

Then gallant Gawain is in north Wales, with the Isle of Anglesey to his left (697-98)

Next he crosses at Holy Head, and arrives in the wilds of Wirral (700-701).

After failing to hear anything of the Green Chapel, he continues on to strange mountains (713-15).

Descending the mountains on Christmas Eve, he crosses forests and marshes in search of a house for mass (740-755).

His prayers are answered, he arrives at a castle unknown to him in the forest (763-767)

Here he stays until New Year’s Day (1998-99)

His guide leads him to Green Chapel from here, crossing many daunting obstacles (2074-2090)

Gawain follows the directions of the guide down to the Green Chapel, and meets the Green Knight, Bertilak (2160-2185).

After fulfilling the wager, and asking repentance for his deceptive ways, Gawain makes off for home (2475-2483)

Finally, Gallant Sir Gawain reaches the King’s court in Camelot, where he retells his journey (2489-End).

References: Norton Anthology of English Literature Volume A, Pages 186-238

Link to Story Map : https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=f6e0d0a6f2224f80bb1f67b81b0c04cd

Alexander Pope Biography

Alexander Pope was born on May 21, 1688 in London, England to a Catholic family. Pope was actually raised in a Protestant controlled area where, at the time, Catholics were not allowed to attend public schools or practice their religion. In the year 1700, he and his family moved away from London to an area called Windsor Forest. Because of the limitations of where he grew up, Pope had very little schooling, so instead he took to educating himself, and focused on poetry. When Pope was 12, he became severely ill, developing spinal tuberculosis. This disfigured Pope, stunting his growth. He actually never grew taller than 4 feet 6 inches, among the other side effects like spine curvature, causing him to wear a brace. This is significant because it made fitting into society difficult for Pope, which had an impact on his famous satirical poetry, not coincidentally aimed at weaknesses of people. Despite the hardship of Pope at an early age, he was a bright mind and had natural ability to write poetry. In 1709, 21 years old, his work Pastorals, poems in the Virgilian style, was published and brought him instant fame. Following this work, he published the Essay on Criticism, which was also very popular. In the mid-1720’s, Pope became a part of the “Scriblerus Club”. Its purpose was to “ridicule pretentious erudition and scholarly jargon through the person of a fictitious literary hack, Martinus Scribblers”. This is significant because it allowed Pope to interact with brilliant minds like Jonathan Swift, John Gay, Thomas Parnell and John Arbuthnot. It also led Pope to begin translating Homer’s Iliad and the Odyssey, two of his most famous works. In the late 1720s Pope worked and published editions of Shakespeare. In his later years, he wrote An Essay on Man (1733-34). This is a philosophical essay written in heroic couplets of iambic pentameter. A unique piece that faces the questions about the ways God treats man. Alexander Pope died on May 30, 1744. He is now buried in the Twickenham Church in Greater London, England.

Fun Facts

Pope wrote An Essay on Man with the intention of it to be a large work, however he did not live to complete it.
Pope’s disease was never cured, and he lived his life with asthma and violent headaches among other effects. Delirious in his later years. He described his life as a “long disease”.
Pope never married.
Pope’s father was a wealthy linen merchant, who after he passed left Pope with a significant amount of money.

Bibliography

“Alexander Pope.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Oct. 2017, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Pope.

“Alexander Pope Biography.” Encyclopedia of World Biography, www.notablebiographies.com/Pe-Pu/Pope-Alexander.html.

“Alexander Pope.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/alexander-pope.

“Pott Disease Clinical Presentation.” Pott Disease Clinical Presentation: History, Physical Examination, 11 July 2017, emedicine.medscape.com/article/226141-clinical.

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. “Scriblerus Club.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 13 Feb. 2017, www.britannica.com/topic/Scriblerus-Club.

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. “An Essay on Man.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 8 Feb. 2017, www.britannica.com/topic/An-Essay-on-Man.

John Milton Biography

John Milton

(c. 1608-c. 1674)

John Milton was born on December 9 in London, England to a middle-class family. Milton’s father was banished from his home by his father for reading protestant books in a very Roman Catholic home. Milton too was very religious growing up, inspired to become a priest. He attended Christ’s School in Cambridge. His time spent in school was not pleasant. Being made fun of and called names was a common occurrence for his different skin complexion and odd manners he developed from his home growing up. Originally he planned to become a priest but instead, after school he went home for 6 years where he began to look into different languages and styles of writing. Also during his time at home he wrote a few of his well-known works such as “On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity” and “On Shakespeare”. May of 1638 Milton began a 13 month journey to France and Italy. He eventually returned with his wife, Mary Powell, who bore him three daughters. During the civil war, Milton supported Oliver Cromwell in the cause of Puritans. During this he wrote pamphlets about radical politics. After the restoration of Charles II in 1660, Milton was arrested as a defender of the Commonwealth. When he was released he decided to live in seclusion which is where he wrote his most famous work, the epic poem “Paradise Lost” in 1667. Milton started to have more health issues as time went on and eventually passed away on November 8, 1674.

Interesting Facts

John Milton is credited for inventing the word “pandemonium” (original meaning is “all demons” but today we use it mostly as an adjective for chaos or craziness)
While Milton was on his journey to France and Italy, he met the famous astronomer, Galileo, the inventor of the telescope.
In 1652, Milton’s eye sight had completely diminished. So when he was writing “Paradise Lost,” he was completely blind.

Works Cited

“John Milton.” Poets.org, Academy of American Poets, 30 Dec. 2014, www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/john-milton.

Milton, John. “On Shakespeare. 1630 by John Milton.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46453/on-shakespeare-1630.

Labriola, Albert C. “John Milton.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 23 Aug. 2017, www.britannica.com/biography/John-Milton.

On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity: Text, www.dartmouth.edu/~milton/reading_room/nativity/text.shtml.

“John Milton.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 5 Oct. 2016, www.biography.com/people/john-milton-9409395.

“John Milton.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/john-milton.

“Five Fascinating Facts about John Milton.” Interesting Literature, 11 May 2017, interestingliterature.com/2016/12/23/five-fascinating-facts-about-john-milton/.

“Little Known Facts About John Milton.” 100 Classics Challenge, 22 Aug. 2013, classicbookreader.wordpress.com/2013/08/22/little-known-facts-about-john-milton/.

Faerie Queene Song

John Milton

Poet, Historian, Writer (c. 1608–c. 1674)

John Milton was born in London, England on December 9, 1608 to John Milton Sr. and Sara Jeffery. In 1625, Milton was enrolled in Christ’s College in Cambridge with a desire to become a minister. Even with his lack of friendships, he succeeded academically. Following seven years after being at Cambridge, John decided to go back home to his family. He spent six years unemployed at home studying Greek and Latin authors. In 1638, John decided to travel abroad Europe for 15 months. He spent most of his time in Italy. While he was there he met Galileo, who was possibly under house arrest at that time. After he returned home, Milton served as secretary for foreign languages in Cromwell’s government and he composed official statements defending the Commonwealth. While he was serving Cromwell, Milton steadily lost his eyesight, and by 1651 he was completely blind. In 1660, Charles II was restored to the throne. After this, Milton was arrested as a defender of the Commonwealth. After he was released, Milton decided to live the rest of his life in secluded and wrote the epic poem Paradise Lost. In 1667, he complete the poem. Finally, John Milton passed away on November 8, 1674, in Buckinghamshire, England from kidney failure.

Fun Facts:

Milton was made fun of in college and his nickname was “the Lady of Christ’s” because of his manners, pale complexion, and beauty.
Since Milton met Galileo, he is referenced to in Paradise Lost.
While writing Paradise Lost, he went blind. His daughter had to transcribe the rest of the book for him.
Milton was married to 3 different women and living with him was reported to be “not easy.” He had 4 children, 1 son and 3 daughters.

Works Cited:

“John Milton.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 5 Oct. 2016, www.biography.com/people/john-milton-9409395. Accessed 3 Oct. 2017.

“John Milton.” Poets.org, Academy of American Poets, 30 Dec. 2014, www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/john-milton. Accessed 3 Oct. 2017.

Greenblatt, Stephen, and Meyer Howard. Abrams. The Norton anthology of English literature Volume B. New York, Norton & Company, 2013.

Labriola, Albert C. “John Milton.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 23 Aug. 2017, www.britannica.com/biography/John-Milton. Accessed 3 Oct. 2017.

“Little Known Facts About John Milton.” 100 Classics Challenge, 22 Aug. 2013, classicbookreader.wordpress.com/2013/08/22/little-known-facts-about-john-milton/. Accessed 3 Oct. 2017.