PRENTICE HALL LITERATURE: Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes Sir John Suckling
Richard Lovelace The works of Suckling and Lovelace have been linked together as the prime examples of the country lyrics known as Cavalier poetry. Both poets wrote a light and easy kind of verse associated with the court of Charles I. Both affected a tone of gentlemanly nonchalance in their poems; both were courtiers under Charles. Suckling came from an extremely wealthy family and used up his inheritance in extravagant living. At one point he hired one hundred fighting men, dressed them up in fancy uniforms, went off to fight for the king in Scotland, and was roundly beaten by the sullen, unfashionably dressed Scots. When he was not engaged in futile fights, he wasted his wealth in gambling. However, he was also a serious patron of many excellent poets, wrote four plays that were spectacularly staged and published at his own exorbitant cost, and composed the delicate lyrics that have gained him fame for over 300 years. As Parliament rebelled against King Charles and gained control of the government, Suckling joined in a conspiracy to free a Royalist leader from the Tower of London. The plot was exposed and Suckling fled to France. There he died impoverished and in despair. A B C D ... Z | |
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