John Cleveland
John Cleveland (16 June 1613 – 29 April 1658) was an English poet who supported the Royalist cause in the English Civil War. He was best known for political satire.
Early life
Cleveland was born in
Posts
A staunch Royalist, Cleveland opposed the election of
In 1646, however, he lost his judge advocacy and wandered about the country dependent on the bounty of other Royalists. In 1655 he was imprisoned at Great Yarmouth, but released by Cromwell, to whom he appealed, and went to London, where he spent the rest of his life.[1] For his letter to Cromwell, see May it please yr Highnesse (1657) or Cleaveland's petition to His Highnesse the Lord Protector [sic].
Poems and other works
Cleveland's poems first appeared in The Character of a London Diurnal (1647) and thereafter in some 20 other collections.[3] His achievement lay in political, satirical verses written mainly in heroic couplets.[3] He has been called "both a detached, intellectual, 'metaphysical' poet" and "a committed satirist".[4]
Cleveland also wrote Royalist news books such as Mercurius Pragmaticus for King Charles II, which appeared after the execution of Charles I. He was particularly interested in the 14th-century Wat Tyler rebellion against Richard II.[5]
His own volume of Poems was published in 1654.[1]
Notes
- ^ a b c d e Cousin 1910.
- ^ ACAD & CLVT627J.
- ^ a b Chisholm 2011.
- ^ Kastan 2006, p. 22.
- ^ Cf. The idol of the clownes, or, Insurrection of Wat The Tyler (1654) and The Rebellion of the Rude Multitude under Wat Tyler and his priests Baal and Straw (1660).
References
- "Cleveland, John (CLVT627J)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (18 November 2011). . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- Kastan, David Scott (2006). The Oxford Encyclopedia of British Literature. Oxford University Press. p. 22. )
Attribution:
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Cousin, John William (1910). "Cleveland, John". A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature. London: J. M. Dent & Sons – via Wikisource.
External links
- "Cleveland, John". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 501.
- "Cleveland, John". Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 11. 1887. pp. 50–53.