1640 in literature
Encyclopedia
The year 1640 in literature involved some significant events.
Events
- January 21 - Salmacida SpoliaSalmacida SpoliaSalmacida Spolia was the last masque performed at the English Court before the outbreak of the English Civil War. Written by Sir William Davenant, with costumes, sets, and stage effects designed by Inigo Jones and with music by Lewis Richard, it was performed at Whitehall Palace on January 21,...
, a masqueMasqueThe masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment which flourished in 16th and early 17th century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio...
written by Sir William DavenantWilliam DavenantSir William Davenant , also spelled D'Avenant, was an English poet and playwright. Along with Thomas Killigrew, Davenant was one of the rare figures in English Renaissance theatre whose career spanned both the Caroline and Restoration eras and who was active both before and after the English Civil...
and designed by Inigo JonesInigo JonesInigo Jones is the first significant British architect of the modern period, and the first to bring Italianate Renaissance architecture to England...
, is performed at Whitehall Palace — the final royal masque of the Caroline eraCaroline eraThe Caroline era refers to the era in English and Scottish history during the Stuart period that coincided with the reign of Charles I , Carolus being Latin for Charles...
. - March 17 (St. Patrick's Day) - Henry Burnell's play Landgartha premieres at the Werburgh Street TheatreWerburgh Street TheatreThe Werburgh Street Theatre, also the Saint Werbrugh Street Theatre or the New Theatre, was a seventeenth-century theatre in Dublin, Ireland...
in Dublin. It is one of the earliest dramatic works from a native Irish playwright. - April 16 (approx.) - James ShirleyJames ShirleyJames Shirley was an English dramatist.He belonged to the great period of English dramatic literature, but, in Lamb's words, he "claims a place among the worthies of this period, not so much for any transcendent genius in himself, as that he was the last of a great race, all of whom spoke nearly...
returns to England from Ireland. - May 4 - Theatre manager William BeestonWilliam BeestonWilliam Beeston was a 17th century actor and theatre manager, the son and successor to the more famous Christopher Beeston.-Early phase:...
is sent to the MarshalseaMarshalseaThe Marshalsea was a prison on the south bank of the River Thames in Southwark, now part of London. From the 14th century until it closed in 1842, it housed men under court martial for crimes at sea, including those accused of "unnatural crimes", political figures and intellectuals accused of...
Prison for staging a play (perhaps Richard BromeRichard BromeRichard Brome was an English dramatist of the Caroline era.-Life:Virtually nothing is known about Brome's private life. Repeated allusions in contemporary works, like Ben Jonson's Bartholomew Fair, indicate that Brome started out as a servant of Jonson, in some capacity...
's The Court BeggarThe Court BeggarThe Court Beggar is a Caroline era stage play written by Richard Brome. It was first performed by the acting company known as Beeston's Boys at the Cockpit Theatre. It has sometimes been identified as the seditious play, performed at the Cockpit in May 1640, which the Master of the Revels moved to...
, or his The Queen and ConcubineThe Queen and ConcubineThe Queen and Concubine is a Caroline era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Richard Brome and first published in 1659. It has sometimes been called Brome's best tragicomedy.-Publication and date:...
) that offended the Stuart regime. This constituted the sole repression of the theatre to occur during the reign of King Charles ICharles I of EnglandCharles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
. - May 28 - Pedro Calderón de la BarcaPedro Calderón de la BarcaPedro Calderón de la Barca y Barreda González de Henao Ruiz de Blasco y Riaño usually referred as Pedro Calderón de la Barca , was a dramatist, poet and writer of the Spanish Golden Age. During certain periods of his life he was also a soldier and a Roman Catholic priest...
joins the Catalonian campaign led by the Duke of Olivares.
New books
- The Bay Psalm BookBay Psalm BookThe Bay Psalm Book was the first book, that is still in existence, printed in British North America.The book is a Psalter, first printed in 1640 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Psalms in it are metrical translations into English...
, the first book printed in North America - Diego de Saavedra FajardoDiego de Saavedra FajardoDiego de Saavedra Fajardo was a Spanish diplomat and man of letters.- Biography :He was born in Algezares, in what is now the province of Murcia....
- Idea de un principe plotico cristiano (literally, "The Idea of a Christian Political Prince;" in English, The Royal Politician) - Thomas FullerThomas FullerThomas Fuller was an English churchman and historian. He is now remembered for his writings, particularly his Worthies of England, published after his death...
- Joseph's partly-coloured Coat - James HowellJames HowellJames Howell was a 17th-century Anglo-Welsh historian and writer who is in many ways a representative figure of his age. The son of a Welsh clergyman, he was for much of his life in the shadow of his elder brother Thomas Howell, who became Lord Bishop of Bristol.-Education:In 1613 he gained his B.A...
- Dodona's Grove - Cornelius JansenCornelius JansenCorneille Janssens, commonly known by the Latinized name Cornelius Jansen or Jansenius, was Catholic bishop of Ypres and the father of a theological movement known as Jansenism.-Biography:...
- Augustinus - John WilkinsJohn WilkinsJohn Wilkins FRS was an English clergyman, natural philosopher and author, as well as a founder of the Invisible College and one of the founders of the Royal Society, and Bishop of Chester from 1668 until his death....
- A Discourse Concerning a New Planet
New drama
- Henry Burnell - Landgartha
- William DavenantWilliam DavenantSir William Davenant , also spelled D'Avenant, was an English poet and playwright. Along with Thomas Killigrew, Davenant was one of the rare figures in English Renaissance theatre whose career spanned both the Caroline and Restoration eras and who was active both before and after the English Civil...
– Salmacida SpoliaSalmacida SpoliaSalmacida Spolia was the last masque performed at the English Court before the outbreak of the English Civil War. Written by Sir William Davenant, with costumes, sets, and stage effects designed by Inigo Jones and with music by Lewis Richard, it was performed at Whitehall Palace on January 21,... - John FletcherJohn Fletcher (playwright)John Fletcher was a Jacobean playwright. Following William Shakespeare as house playwright for the King's Men, he was among the most prolific and influential dramatists of his day; both during his lifetime and in the early Restoration, his fame rivalled Shakespeare's...
& James Shirley - The Night WalkerThe Night WalkerThe Night Walker, or The Little Thief is an early seventeenth-century stage play, a comedy written by John Fletcher and later revised by his younger contemporary James Shirley. It was first published in 1640.-Authorship:...
(published) - Henry GlapthorneHenry GlapthorneHenry Glapthorne was a Caroline era dramatist.Glapthorne was baptized in Cambridgeshire, the son of Thomas Glapthorne and Faith nee Hatcliff. His father was a bailiff of Lady Hatton, the wife of Sir Edward Coke...
- The Hollander, Wit in a Constable, and The Ladies' Privilege (published) - John Gough - The Strange Discovery
- William HabingtonWilliam HabingtonWilliam Habington was an English poet.He was born at Hindlip Hall, Worcestershire, and belonged to a well-known Catholic family...
- The Queen of Arragon - Samuel Harding - Sicily and Naples
- Jean MairetJean MairetJean Mairet was a classical French dramatist who wrote both tragedies and comedies.- Life :He was born at Besançon, and went to Paris to study at the Collège des Grassins about 1625. In that year he produced his first piece Chryséide et Arimand...
- L’Illustre corsaire - Nathaniel Richards - Messalina (published)
- Joseph Rutter - The Cid, Part 2 (published)
- George SandysGeorge SandysGeorge Sandys was an English traveller, colonist and poet.-Life:He was born in Bishopsthorpe, the seventh and youngest son of Edwin Sandys, archbishop of York. He studied at St Mary Hall, Oxford, but took no degree...
- Christ's Passion (English translation of Hugo GrotiusHugo GrotiusHugo Grotius , also known as Huig de Groot, Hugo Grocio or Hugo de Groot, was a jurist in the Dutch Republic. With Francisco de Vitoria and Alberico Gentili he laid the foundations for international law, based on natural law...
's Christus Patiens) - Lewis Sharpe - The Noble Stranger published
- James ShirleyJames ShirleyJames Shirley was an English dramatist.He belonged to the great period of English dramatic literature, but, in Lamb's words, he "claims a place among the worthies of this period, not so much for any transcendent genius in himself, as that he was the last of a great race, all of whom spoke nearly...
- The ImpostureThe ImpostureThe Imposture is a Caroline era stage play, a tragicomedy written by James Shirley and first published in 1653. Shirley himself considered The Imposture the best of his romantic comedies....
performed; a single-volume collection of eight plays published; The ArcadiaThe Arcadia (play)The Arcadia is James Shirley's dramatization of the prose romance, The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia by Sir Philip Sidney — one expression of the enormous influence that Sidney's work exercised during the 17th century. Shirley's stage version was first published in 1640.The 1640 quarto was...
, The Humorous CourtierThe Humorous CourtierThe Humorous Courtier, also called The Duke, is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy written by James Shirley, first published in 1640....
, and Saint Patrick for IrelandSaint Patrick for IrelandSaint Patrick for Ireland is a Caroline era stage play, written by James Shirley and first published in 1640. It is notable as an early development in Irish theatre....
published; The CoronationThe CoronationThe Coronation is the title of*a 1630s play, The Coronation *a 2000 novel, The Coronation...
published but misattributed to John Fletcher
Poetry
- Thomas CarewThomas CarewThomas Carew was an English poet, among the 'Cavalier' group of Caroline poets.-Biography:He was the son of Sir Matthew Carew, master in chancery, and his wife, Alice daughter of Sir John Rivers, Lord Mayor of the City of London and widow of Ingpen...
- Poems - Robert Sempill the youngerRobert Sempill the youngerRobert Sempill, the younger , Scottish poet, son of James Sempill, was educated at the University of Glasgow, having matriculated in March 1613....
- The Life and Death of Habbie Simpson, Piper of Kilbarchan - John TathamJohn TathamJohn Tatham was an English dramatist of the mid-seventeenth century.Little is known of him. He was a Cavalier who hated the Puritans — and the Scots;he invented a dialect which he claimed was their vernacular tongue...
- Fancy's Theatre
Births
- April 2 - Marianna AlcoforadoMarianna AlcoforadoSóror Mariana Alcoforado , was a Portuguese nun, living in the convent of the Poor Ladies in Beja, Portugal....
, author of Letters of a Portuguese Nun (died 1723) - July 10 - Aphra BehnAphra BehnAphra Behn was a prolific dramatist of the English Restoration and was one of the first English professional female writers. Her writing contributed to the amatory fiction genre of British literature.-Early life:...
, dramatist (died 1689) - August 8 - Amalia CatharinaAmalia CatharinaAmalia Catharina , Countess of Erbach, was a German poet and composer. She was born in Arolsen to Count Philipp Theodor von Waldeck and the Countess of Nassau. In 1664 she married Count Georg Ludwig von Erbach. She published a number of Pietist poems and songs in Hildburghausen in 1692. They were...
, German poet (died 1697) - September 6 - Heinrich BrewerHeinrich BrewerHeinrich Brewer was a German Roman Catholic priest and historian.Brewer was educated at the Gymnasium Tricoronatum in Cologne. He was ordained a priest in 1664. After this he was for a time a private tutor at Cologne, then curate of the cathedral at Bonn...
, German historian (died c. 1713) - December 6 - Claude FleuryClaude FleuryClaude Fleury , was a French ecclesiastical historian.Destined for the bar, he was educated at the aristocratic College of Clermont . In 1658 he was nominated an advocate to the parlement of Paris, and for nine years followed the legal profession...
, historian (died 1723) - date unknown
- David-Augustin de BrueysDavid-Augustin de BrueysDavid-Augustin de Brueys was a French theologian and dramatist. He was born in Aix-en-Provence. His family was Calvinist, and he studied theology. After writing a critique of Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet's work, he was in turn converted to Catholicism by Bossuet, and later became a priest.After his...
, French theologian and dramatist (died 1723) - Madame de VilledieuMarie-Catherine de VilledieuMarie-Catherine de Villedieu, born Marie-Catherine Desjardins and generally referred to as Madame de Villedieu was a French writer of plays, novels and short fiction...
, French dramatist and novelist (died 1683)
- David-Augustin de Brueys
- probable - William WycherleyWilliam WycherleyWilliam Wycherley was an English dramatist of the Restoration period, best known for the plays The Country Wife and The Plain Dealer.-Biography:...
, dramatist (died 1716)
Deaths
- January 25 - Robert BurtonRobert Burton (scholar)Robert Burton was an English scholar at Oxford University, best known for the classic The Anatomy of Melancholy. He was also the incumbent of St Thomas the Martyr, Oxford, and of Segrave in Leicestershire.-Life:...
, scholar (born 1577) - March 17 - Philip MassingerPhilip MassingerPhilip Massinger was an English dramatist. His finely plotted plays, including A New Way to Pay Old Debts, The City Madam and The Roman Actor, are noted for their satire and realism, and their political and social themes.-Early life:The son of Arthur Massinger or Messenger, he was baptized at St....
, dramatist (born 1583) - March 22 - Thomas CarewThomas CarewThomas Carew was an English poet, among the 'Cavalier' group of Caroline poets.-Biography:He was the son of Sir Matthew Carew, master in chancery, and his wife, Alice daughter of Sir John Rivers, Lord Mayor of the City of London and widow of Ingpen...
, poet (born 1595) - April - Uriel da CostaUriel da CostaUriel da Costa or Uriel Acosta was a philosopher and skeptic from Portugal.-Life:Costa was born in Porto with the name Gabriel da Costa...
, Portuguese philosopher (born c. 1585) - May 30 - André DuchesneAndré DuchesneAndré Duchesne was a French geographer and historian, generally styled the father of French history. He was educated at Loudun and afterwards at Paris...
, French historian (born 1584) - October 1 - Claudio AchilliniClaudio AchilliniClaudio Achillini was an Italian philosopher, theologian, mathematician, poet, and jurist.Born in Bologna, he was grandson to Giovanni Filoteo Achillini and grand-nephew to Alessandro Achillini. He was professor of jurisprudence for several years at his native Bologna, Parma, and Ferrara, with the...
, Italian philosopher and poet (born 1574) - date unknown
- William AlabasterWilliam AlabasterWilliam Alabaster was an English poet, playwright, and religious writer. His surname is one of the many variants of "arbalester", a crossbowman....
, poet (born 1567) - William AspleyWilliam AspleyWilliam Aspley was a London publisher of the Elizabethan, Jacobean, and Caroline eras. He was a member of the publishing syndicates that issued the First Folio and Second Folio collections of Shakespeare's plays, in 1623 and 1632.-Career:...
, London publisher - Paul Fleming, poet (born 1609)
- Elizabeth MelvilleElizabeth MelvilleElizabeth Melville , is the earliest known Scottish woman writer to have her work appear in print and is most famous for writing the Ane Godlie Dreame, a Calvinist dream-vision poem....
, Scottish poet - Sir John MeltonJohn MeltonSir John Melton was an English merchant, writer and politician.He was appointed Secretary to the Council of the North in 1635, by Charles I of England.He was elected Member of Parliament for Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the year of his death....
, politician and writer - Daniel NaborowskiDaniel NaborowskiDaniel Naborowski was a Polish Baroque poet.Daniel Naborowski was born in Cracow. His education took place not only in Cracow, but also at Wittenberg and Basle . In Basle he studied medicine, in Orléans he studied law, and from Galileo in Padua he learned military engineering...
, Polish poet (born 1573) - Richard RowlandsRichard RowlandsRichard Rowlands , Anglo-Dutch antiquary, whose real name was Verstegen , was the son of a cooper established in East London. His grandfather, Theodore Roland Verstegen, a Dutch emigrant, came from Gelderland to the Kingdom of England c...
, antiquary (born c. 1550)
- William Alabaster
- probable
- Charles AleynCharles AleynCharles Aleyn , a historical poet in the reign of Charles I, was of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge; became usher to the celebrated Thomas Farnaby, at his school, in Goldsmith's Rents, and afterwards tutor to Sir Edward Sherburne, himself a poet. He died about 1640.Aleyn seems to have been much...
, poet - John DayJohn Day (dramatist)John Day was an English dramatist of the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods.-Life:He was born at Cawston, Norfolk, and educated at Ely. He became a sizar of Caius College, Cambridge, in 1592, but was expelled in the next year for stealing a book...
, dramatist (born 1574) - John FordJohn Ford (dramatist)John Ford was an English Jacobean and Caroline playwright and poet born in Ilsington in Devon in 1586.-Life and work:...
, dramatist (born 1584)
- Charles Aleyn