The Lives of the Most Famous English Poets (1687)

In Short

Compiled in 1687, this volume serves as a pioneering, if imperfect, biographical dictionary of English poets. It attempts a chronological sweep from early medieval figures to the political polemicists of the Restoration. The work is notable for its candid, often gossipy, interest in the humanity behind the literature—documenting the tragedies, scholarly rivalries, and professional struggles of over 150 writers. By mixing biography with extensive excerpts of their verse, the book functions as both a record of literary evolution and a window into the values of a bygone era.

The Story

The narrative arc of the book is defined by a deep anxiety regarding the fragility of legacy. It begins by establishing a lineage of "English Poets," reaching back to figures like the medieval monk known as Nequam, whose scholarly reputation survived despite a name that meant "bad" in Latin. The progression is not merely a list of achievements but a series of cautionary tales about the intersection of artistic genius and worldly misfortune. We see the trajectory of high-minded scholarship often cut short by poverty, political upheaval, or the fickle nature of the reading public.

As the accounts move through the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras, the tone shifts toward the professional realities of the writer’s life. The story follows the rise and fall of figures like Sir Walter Raleigh, whose monumental History of the World suffered such poor initial sales that he destroyed his own unpublished manuscripts in a fit of despair—a "loss to learning" that serves as the book’s central metaphor for the tragedy of unappreciated labor. From there, the narrative winds through the lives of the great dramatists, including the "happy Triumvirate" of Jonson, Shakespeare, and Fletcher. Here, the focus is on the collaborative, competitive, and often contentious nature of the theater, where poets were defined as much by their rivalries with the clergy or political leaders as by their skill with a quill.

The latter portion of the book focuses on the "wits" and loyalists of the seventeenth century, documenting the intense ideological pressures of the English Civil War and the subsequent Restoration. The lives presented here are increasingly marked by external strife; poets are shown fleeing rebellions, losing libraries to plunder, or being persecuted for their outspoken support of the monarchy. The arc concludes with the figure of Sir Roger L’Estrange, a prolific writer whose career embodies the book’s final argument: that a writer’s worth is measured by their steadfastness in the face of public opinion. By the time the final entry is reached, the "story" is no longer just about poetry, but about the struggle to maintain one’s voice in a world that is "ungrateful" and prone to forgetting. The book ends on a note of resignation, admitting that many other deserving writers have been omitted simply because the volume grew too large for the bookseller’s comfort.

How It Unfolds

The foundations of tradition The work opens by anchoring English poetry in the distant past, using Latin epitaphs and ancient monastic legends to establish that intellectual rigor has always been a part of the national character. It emphasizes that even the earliest poets, like Chaucer, were viewed as the "load-sterre" or guiding star of the language, whose deaths felt like an irreparable blow to the culture.

The struggle for recognition The middle section pivots to the harsh realities of the publishing trade and the precariousness of the poet's status. It highlights the stories of men like Skelton and Raleigh, who found themselves at odds with the powerful, illustrating the theme that artistic merit provides no shield against political or financial ruin.

The golden age of wit The focus shifts to the theater and the intellectual circles of the early seventeenth century, profiling giants like Ben Jonson and the collaborative duo of Beaumont and Fletcher. It captures the creative energy of the age, while also documenting the petty jealousies and the "mock-contention" for status that frequently fueled these writers’ careers.

The final stand of the loyalists The concluding chapters chronicle the lives of writers caught in the crucible of the Civil War, where poetry became a weapon of political survival. It settles on the figure of Sir Roger L’Estrange, framing his prolific output of pamphlets and translations as a heroic attempt to restore reason to a poisoned nation.

The People

The central figures range from the scholarly to the sensational. Sir Walter Raleigh stands as the tragic intellectual, his destruction of his own work symbolizing the vulnerability of genius. Ben Jonson represents the prototypical man of letters—studied, occasionally cantankerous, and deeply respected by his peers as the "Muses' fairest light." John Skelton provides a contrast as the "Poet Laureat" who ran afoul of Cardinal Wolsey, highlighting the dangerous proximity between wit and power. Sir Thomas Wiat is portrayed as the refined courtier, bridging the gap between diplomatic service and poetic innovation. Finally, Sir Roger L’Estrange marks the shift toward the polemicist; he is depicted not as a dreamer, but as an indefatigable laborer for the crown, whose life proves that in a turbulent age, the pen is used primarily to "undeceive" the people. Through them, the reader sees a progression from the poet as a seeker of beauty to the poet as a partisan combatant.

In Its Own Voice

Regarding the fragility of a writer's legacy and the cruelty of the era, the author reflects on the loss of Raleigh's work:

"Ah my Friend, hath the first Part undone thee? The second Volume shall undo no more; this ungrateful World is unworthy of it."

Describing the high esteem in which Chaucer was held by his contemporaries, the author cites a lament from a fellow writer:

"Alas my worthy Maister honourable, This Land's very Treasure and Richess! Death by thy Death hath harm irreparable Unto us done."

On the character of John Skelton, the author provides a nuanced, if harsh, assessment of his transition from respected scholar to historical footnote:

"John Skelton, the Poet Laureat in his Age, tho' now accounted only a Rhymer, is supposed to have been born in Norfolke."

What It's Really About

At its core, this book is an inquiry into the nature of permanence. It asks what allows a writer to endure in the memory of a nation that is constantly distracted by political strife and modern fashions. The underlying argument is that "merit" is not enough; survival requires a combination of wit, patronage, and the luck to avoid the "Spanish cruelty" or the burning of one's own work. The book grapples with the tension between the transient nature of fame—where even great works become "out of date"—and the desire to honor the "never dying" influence of those who shaped the English language. It is a meditation on the heavy toll that public life takes on the private, creative soul.

Why Read It Today

Reading this work today feels like stepping into a cluttered, dust-moted archive. It is a dense, archaic experience, filled with Latin phrases, seventeenth-century typography, and an unabashedly biased view of history. Readers who enjoy the raw, unpolished character of historical documents will find great pleasure in the author’s candid asides and his occasional, brutal descriptions of the poets’ appearances or failings. The book is not a modern, objective biography; it is a product of its time, carrying the prejudices and the limited information of the late 1600s.

However, its charm lies in its warmth and its desire to save these voices from oblivion. For those interested in the history of the English canon, this book offers a rare, ground-level view of how these poets were understood by their own descendants. It is challenging, certainly—the language requires patience, and the lack of modern scholarly rigor is evident—but it leaves the reader with a poignant sense of the cycle of literary fortune. You finish the book feeling that the author has truly acted as a "friend" to these ghosts, pulling their names from the fire of history just as he describes Raleigh attempting to pull his manuscripts from the hearth.