Author's Biographies

Sir Philip Sidney

  • First to write a series of sonnets linked by subject matter and theme
  • Charmed the British court with charisma and intelligence, later lost when writing letter to Queen Elizabeth urging her not to marry the Duke of Anjou
  • Regained status with queen and was knighted in 1583
  • Wounded in military engagement with Spanish Catholics in Holland in 1586 and dies twenty six days later
  • Widely known as a courtier, soldier, scholar, and poet
  • Works include Astrophel and Stella, Defense of Poesy, and Arcadia

Christopher Marlowe

  • Wrote in blank verse
  • Born in Canterbury (throwback) and went to Cambridge University on religious scholarship despite being rumored to be an atheist (good for him)
  • Spent time writing plays, serving as a government agent rather than taking holy orders
  • Killed by getting stabbed in a tavern (lame) in 1593, unclear whether it was a political assassination or a fight over paying the bill
  • Widely known for plays and use of dramatic blank verse
  • Works include Dr. Faustus, Tamburlaine, Hero and Leander, and “The Passionate Shepherd”

Sir Walter Raleigh

  • Known as courtier who supposedly covered a puddle with his cloak so Queen Elizabeth didn’t get her feet wet… (ummm..)
  • Founder of the colony of Virginia and introduced tobacco to Europe
  • Soldier, explorer, poet
  • Sent to colonize America by Queen Elizabeth (thanks gina), as a result showered him with honors and awards for being a cracker colonizer
  • Raleigh married one of Elizabeth’s maids of honor, she got jealous and imprisoned him
  • When King James I rose to thrown, accused Raleigh of treason
  • Eventually was set free, decided to take one last voyage to South America where he was accused of burning down a Spanish Settlement
  • The treason conviction was reinstated following his actions and was executed in 1618
  • Little of Raleigh’s works survived, but is known for conveying humor, realism, and flashes of bitterness within his poems

Edmund Spenser

  • Imaginative experimenter in verse forms and invented the Spenserian stanza and sonnet
  • Born into middle class family, went to Cambridge University on scholarship, worked study throughout college to pay off debt
  • Early poems were published
  • Became friends with Sidney and formed a literary group while working for the secretary to the Earl of Leicester
  • Dedicated his work The Faerie Queen to Queen Elizabeth, was not given position at court in return (why are all of these poets simps for Lizzy The First)
  • Married Elizabeth Boyle, the inspiration behind his love poems titled Amoretti
  • Castle got destroyed by Irish people and died in 1599, buried in poets corner of Westminster Abbey

William Shakespeare

  • Not an official note, but a thought… why is he so famous??
  • Did not attend university (are we surprised)
  • Married wife Anne Hathaway in 1582, had daughter Susanna (1583) and twins Hamnet (HAMLET?!?) and Judith in 1585
  • Very little is known about Shakespeare’s life for some reason
  • Developed reputation amongst theater companies
  • Took over the Lord Chamberlain’s Men and renamed the company the King’s Men in honor of King James following Queen Elizabeth’s death
  • Retired in 1610, died in 1616 and buried at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford
  • Wrote 37 plays (but did he), 154 sonnets, and 2 narrative poems