Michael Drayton

Angus Vine (University of Stirling)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.03: English Writing and Culture: Renaissance (Elizabethan and Jacobean periods) , 1485-1625.
Vol. editors: William M. Hamlin (Washington State University), J A Roe (University of York), Virginia Mason Vaughan (Clark University), Ema Vyroubalova (Trinity College Dublin)

Dates

Born c. 1563
Died 1631
Activity 1591-1631

Places

Born in England
Active in England; Scotland

Activities

Primary

Poet

Other

Playwright / Dramatist

Resources

Drayton's Works

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Born in 1563 (?) in the village of Hartshill, near Atherstone in Warwickshire, Michael Drayton was a contemporary of Shakespeare and a near contemporary of Spenser. Most of what is known about Drayton’s life is conjectural, often derived from elliptical hints in his poetry. A major poet, Drayton published works in a variety of genres, including pastoral, epic and nymphal. Like many of his contemporaries, Drayton was also a playwright, although only one of his plays has survived. Important in his own right, as both the pre-eminent Spenserian and the foremost antiquarian poet of the early modern period, Drayton is also of great importance because of his friendships and associates. He numbered figures as diverse and prominent as William Camden, John Selden and William Browne of Tavistock…

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2500 words

Citation: Vine, Angus. "Michael Drayton". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 21 June 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1315, accessed 27 November 2024.]