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William Davenant
Sir William Davenant (February 28, 1606 – April 7, 1668), also spelled D'Avenant, was an English poet and playwright. Along with Thomas Killigrew, Davenant was one of the rare figures in English Renaissance theatre whose career spanned both the Caroline and Restoration eras, and who was active both before and after the English Civil War and the Interregnum.

Biography

Davenant was born in late February, 1606 in Oxford, the son of Jane Shepherd Davenant and John Davenant, proprietor of the Crown Tavern (or Crown Inn) and mayor of Oxford. He was the godson of William Shakespeare, who had stayed frequently at the Crown during his travels between London and Stratford-upon-Avon. It was even rumored that he was the Bard's biological son as well. However, it seems that this rumor stemmed from a comment attributed to Davenant by Samuel Butler: "It seemed to him [Davenant] that he writ with the very same spirit that Shakespeare [did], and seemed content enough to be called his son."

He attended Lincoln College, Oxford, for a while in about 1620, but left before gaining any degree.

Following the death of Ben Jonson in 1637, Davenant was named Poet Laureate in 1638. He was a supporter of King Charles I in the English Civil War. In 1641, he was declared guilty of high treason but was, ironically, knighted two years later by the king following the battle of Gloucester. He was then appointed Emissary to France in 1645 and treasurer of the colony of Virginia in 1649 by Charles II. The following year, he was made lieutenant governor of Maryland, but was captured at sea, imprisoned, and sentenced to death. He spent all of 1651 in the Tower of London, where he was imprisoned at the time Gondibert was written. Having been released in 1652, he was only pardoned in 1654. In order to avoid the strict laws of censorship in force in all public places at the time, he turned a room of his home, Rutland House, into a private theatre where his works, and that of others considered seditious, could be performed. A performance of his The Siege of Rhodes at Rutland House in 1656 is considered to be the first performance of an English opera, and also included England's first known professional actress, Mrs. Coleman. [1]

Davenant once again found himself in legal trouble in 1659, when he was imprisoned for his part in Sir George Booth's uprising at Cheshire. He was released the same year though and fled to France. He had returned to England sometime before the initial production of his adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tempest, written with John Dryden, who would be named the next Laureate in 1670.

After suffering from syphilis for nearly four decades, he died in London on April 7, 1668, shortly after his final play, The Man's the Master, was first performed. He is buried in Poets' Corner at Westminster Abbey where the inscription on his tablet reads "O rare Sir William Davenant." It has been noted that the original inscription on Ben Jonson's tablet, which was already removed by the time Davenant died, was "Rare Ben," which was the name Shakespeare supposedly had for Jonson.

Nine of his works, though they were previously licensed or produced in London during his life like all of his plays, were finally published in print posthumously. Several of these were included in The Works of Sr William D'avenant Kt., by Henry Herringman in 1673, which was copied from Davenant's own originals.

Works

Epic poems and books of poetry

  • Ieffereidos (1630)
  • Madagascar, with other Poems (1638)
  • London, King Charles his Augusta, or, City Royal, of the founders, the names, and oldest honours of that City (1648)
  • A Discourse upon Gondibert, an heroick poem (or simply Gondibert) (1650), which was originally published unfinished, but was published again in 1651 in its final form and included Davenant's "Preface to his most honour’d friend Mr. Hobs" and "The Answer of Mr. Hobbes to Sr Will. D’Avenant’s Preface before Gondibert" by Thomas Hobbes, to whom the book was dedicated; the official second edition in 1653 also contained "Certain Verses, written by severall of the author’s friends"
  • (1656)
  • Poems on Several Occasions (1657)

Panegyrics

  • "A Panegyric to his Excellency the Lord General Monck" (1660), to George Monck
  • "Poem upon his sacred Majesties most happy return to his dominions" (1660), on the Restoration of Charles II
  • "Poem, to the King’s most sacred Majesty" (1663), to Charles II

Original plays, masques and operas

Listed in chronological order.
  • Albovine, King of the Lombards, tragedy (ca. 1626-9; printed 1629)
  • The Cruel Brother, tragedy (licensed Jan. 12, 1627; printed 1630)
  • The Just Italian, comedy (licensed Oct. 2, 1629; printed 1630)
  • The Wits, comedy (licensed Jan. 19, 1634; printed 1636)
  • Love and Honour, tragicomedy, also previously performed as The Courage of Love; and The Nonpareilles, or The Matchless Maids (licensed Nov. 20, 1634: printed 1649)
  • The Temple of Love, masque (licensed Feb. 10, 1635; printed 1635)
  • News from Plymouth, comedy (licensed Aug. 1, 1635; printed 1673)
  • The Platonick Lovers, comedy (licensed Nov. 16, 1635; printed 1636)
  • The Triumphs of the Prince D'Amour, masque (performed Feb. 23 or 24, 1636; printed 1636)
  • Britannia Triumphans, masque, with Inigo Jones (licensed Jan. 8, 1638; printed 1638)
  • Luminalia or The Festival of Light, masque, with Inigo Jones (licensed Feb. 6, 1638; printed 1638)
  • The Unfortunate Lovers, tragedy (licensed April 16, 1638; printed 1643)
  • The Fair Favourite, tragicomedy (licensed Nov. 17, 1638; printed 1673)
  • The Spanish Lovers, or The Distresses, comedy (licensed March 30, 1639; printed 1673)
  • Salmacida Spolia, masque (performed Jan. 21, 1640; printed 1640)
  • The Siege of Rhodes, Part I, tragicomedy (performed Sept. 1656; printed 1656)
  • The Cruelty of the Spaniards in Peru, opera (performed and printed 1658)
  • The History of Sir Francis Drake, history (performed 1658-9; printed1659)
  • The Siege of Rhodes, Part II, tragicomedy (ca. 1657-9; printed 1663)
  • The Play-House to Be Let, comedy (performed ca. Aug. 1663; printed 1673); includes Sir Frances Drake and The Cruelty of the Spaniards in Peru
  • The Man's the Master, comedy (performed March 26, 1668; printed 1669)

Revisions, adaptations and other productions for the stage

References

  • Terence P. Logan and Denzell S. Smith, eds., The Later Jacobean and Caroline Dramatists: A Survey and Bibliography of Recent Studies in English Renaissance Drama, Lincoln, Nebraska, University of Nebraska Press, 1975.

External links

Biographical

Poems and texts

Preceded by
Ben Jonson		English Poet Laureate
1638–1668		Succeeded by
John Dryden
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Motto
Dieu et mon droit   (French)
"God and my right"
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No official anthem specific to England — the anthem of the United Kingdom is "God Save the Queen".
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A poet is a person who writes poetry. This is usually influenced by a cultural and intellectual tradition. Some consider the best poetry to be, to some extent, and universal, and to address issues common to all humanity; others are more absorbed by its particular, personal and
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A playwright, also known as a 'dramatist', is a person who writes dramatic literature or drama. These works may be written specifically to be performed by actors or they may be closet dramas or literary works written using dramatic forms but not meant for performance.
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Thomas Killigrew (February 7, 1612 – March 19, 1683), was an English dramatist and theatre manager. He was a witty, dissolute figure at the court of King Charles II of England.
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English Renaissance theatre is English drama written between the Reformation and the closure of the theatres in 1642. It may also be called early modern English theatre. It includes the drama of William Shakespeare along with many other famous dramatists.
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The English Civil War consisted of a series of armed conflicts and political machinations that took place between Parliamentarians (known as Roundheads) and Royalists (known as Cavaliers) between 1642 and 1651.
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The English Interregnum was the period of parliamentary and military rule in the land occupied by modern-day England and Wales after the English Civil War. It began with the regicide of Charles I in 1649 and ended with the restoration of Charles II in 1660.
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Oxford is a city and local government district in Oxfordshire, England, with a population of 134,248 (2001 census). It is home to the University of Oxford, the oldest university in the English-speaking world.
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William Shakespeare

The Chandos portrait, artist and authenticity unconfirmed. National Portrait Gallery, London.
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Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England
Died: 23 March 1616
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Samuel Butler (4 December, 1612 – 18 June, 1680) was born in Strensham, Worcestershire and baptised 14 February, 1613. He is remembered now chiefly for a long satirical burlesque poem on Puritanism entitled Hudibras.
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Lincoln College (in full: The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is situated in the centre of Oxford, lying on Turl Street next to Exeter and backing onto Brasenose.
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Ben Jonson

Ben Jonson by Abraham Blyenberch, 1617.
Born: 11 June 1572
Westminster, London, England
Died: 6 July 1637
Westminster, London, England
Occupation: Dramatist, poet and actor

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For the US Poet Laureate, see .


A Poet Laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and often expected to compose poems for State occasions and other government events. The plural form is poets laureate.
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Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, King of Scotland and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649.

Charles famously engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England.
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The English Civil War consisted of a series of armed conflicts and political machinations that took place between Parliamentarians (known as Roundheads) and Royalists (known as Cavaliers) between 1642 and 1651.
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Commonwealth of Virginia

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Charles II (Charles Stuart; 29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland.

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