William Browne
Encyclopedia
William Browne was an English poet
, born at Tavistock, Devon and educated at Exeter College, Oxford
; subsequently he entered the Inner Temple
.
His poems, which are mainly descriptive, are rich and flowing, and true to the phenomena of nature, but deficient in interest. Influenced by Spenser
, he in turn had an influence upon such poets as John Milton
and John Keats
. His chief works were Britannia's Pastorals (1613) an inordinately long poem, and a contribution to The Shepheard's Pipe (1614). Britannia's Pastorals was never finished: in his lifetime Books I & II were published successively in 1613 and 1616. The manuscript of Book III (unfinished) was not published until 1852. The poem is concerned with the loves and woes of Celia, Marina, etc.
To him is due the epitaph for the dowager Countess of Pembroke ("Sidney's sister, Pembroke's mother").
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, born at Tavistock, Devon and educated at Exeter College, Oxford
Exeter College, Oxford
Exeter College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth oldest college of the University. The main entrance is on the east side of Turl Street...
; subsequently he entered the Inner Temple
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
.
His poems, which are mainly descriptive, are rich and flowing, and true to the phenomena of nature, but deficient in interest. Influenced by Spenser
Edmund Spenser
Edmund Spenser was an English poet best known for The Faerie Queene, an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is recognised as one of the premier craftsmen of Modern English verse in its infancy, and one of the greatest poets in the English...
, he in turn had an influence upon such poets as John Milton
John Milton
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
and John Keats
John Keats
John Keats was an English Romantic poet. Along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, he was one of the key figures in the second generation of the Romantic movement, despite the fact that his work had been in publication for only four years before his death.Although his poems were not...
. His chief works were Britannia's Pastorals (1613) an inordinately long poem, and a contribution to The Shepheard's Pipe (1614). Britannia's Pastorals was never finished: in his lifetime Books I & II were published successively in 1613 and 1616. The manuscript of Book III (unfinished) was not published until 1852. The poem is concerned with the loves and woes of Celia, Marina, etc.
To him is due the epitaph for the dowager Countess of Pembroke ("Sidney's sister, Pembroke's mother").
External links
- Original poems by William Browne published with biographical comments and Browne's family tree by Samuel Egerton Brydges at the Lee Priory Press in 1815.
- Britannia's Pastorals Project Gutenberg