George Gascoigne

George Gascoigne (ca. 1535 – 7 October 1577) was an English poet, soldier, artist, and unsuccessful courtier. He is considered the most important poet of the early Elizabethan era, following Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey and leading to the emergence of Philip Sidney. He was the first poet to deify Queen Elizabeth I, in effect establishing her cult as a virgin goddess married to her kingdom and subjects. His most noted works include A Discourse of the Adventures of Master FJ (1573), an account of courtly sexual intrigue and one of the earliest English prose fictions; The Supposes, (performed in 1566, printed in 1573), an early translation of Ariosto and the first comedy written in English prose, which was used by Shakespeare as a source for The Taming of the Shrew; the frequently anthologised short poem "Gascoignes wodmanship" (1573); and "Certayne Notes of Instruction concerning the making of verse or ryme in English" (1575), the first essay on English versification.

Read more about George Gascoigne:  Early Life, Plays At Grays Inn, Hundredth Sundry Flowres (1573) and Posies of Gascoigne (1575), At War in The Netherlands, Later Writings and Influences, Ancestry

Famous quotes containing the word gascoigne:

    Full many wanton babes have I,
    Which must be stilled with lullaby.
    —George Gascoigne (1539–1577)