Sign-In
Cart
Collected Poems
Paperback
Series: Shearsman Classics, Book 25
ISBN13: 9781848616127
Publisher: Shearsman Books
Published: Jun 26 2020
Pages: 108
Weight: 0.37
Height: 0.26 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
Sir John Suckling (1609-1641) was a significant figure in the group of poets who followed Ben Jonson (often referred to as the tribe of Ben), and was a close friend of both Robert Herrick and Thomas Carew. These writers tend to be described as Cavalier poets, having been supporters of King Charles I in the English Civil War and, in some cases, having fought actively with the royalist forces. Suckling raised troops and led them into battle - singularly unsuccessfully: it seems they all ran away at the first sign of violence and thus Suckling could proudly report that not one person under his command had been lost in battle. He had a sense of humour, as did many of his friends in the Tribe. According to legend, he also invented the game of Cribbage, and was accounted one of the finest card-players of his day.
Suckling was regarded as a wit - an educated man about town, able to turn a courteous and amusing phrase, or a poetic tribute, but also a gambler, a womaniser, and a man who dabbled in court politics. This last inclination would lead to him being on the wrong side of history, when his outspoken support for the fallen Earl of Strafford, and participation in a plot to free the Earl from the Tower of London, led to his own condemnation for treason by Parliament. In order to avoid arrest Suckling fled to France but died not long after his arrival, with most reports suggesting that he died of poisoning, either by his own hand or by that of another.
Suckling's witty and well-turned verses are typical of his circle and place him on a par with such contemporary figures as Lovelace. They are still well worth our attention today some 500 years later.
Also in
General Poetry
Dante's Vita Nuova, New Edition: A Translation and an Essay
Alighieri, Dante
Pitavy, Francois
Paperback
Sounding the Seasons Enlarged Edition: One Hundred and Ten Sonnets for the Christian Year
Guite, Malcolm
Paperback
They Bloom Because of You: Poems on the Infinite Love, Growth, and Magic of Motherhood
Urlichs, Jessica
Paperback
Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching: A Book about the Way and the Power of the Way
Le Guin, Ursula K.
Lao Tzu
Paperback