Cokayne, Sir Aston

(1608-1684)

   Born into a long line of English aristocrats, whose seat was at Ashbourne in Derbyshire, he was educated at Chenie school, Buckinghamshire, and at Trinity College, Cambridge. Through marriage with the heiress of the family of Herthull, he acquired large estates in several midland counties, including the lordship of Pooley (in Polesworth), Warwickshire. His life was uneventful; he toured France and Italy, then he seems to have settled down to running his estate and writing poetry. He died almost penniless. His main publications are: Dianea, 1654 (a translation from Italian by Gio. Francisco Loredano). The Obstinate Lady, 1657 (comedy). Small Poems of Divers Sorts, 1658. A Chain of Golden Poems, 1659 (a reissue of his poems with additions, and another reissue in 1662). Choice Poems, 1669 (the final reissue). Some of his other poems: "Epitaph on a Great Sleeper," "Funeral Elegy on the Death of His Very Good Friend, Mr. Michael Drayton," "Lady, in Your Applause Verse Goes," "Of a Mistress," "Of Lycoris," "To Lesbia," "To My Noble Cousin Colonel Ralph Sneyde," "To Plautia," "To Thalia."

   Sources: Dictionary of National Biography. Electronic Edition, 1.1. Oxford University Press, 1997. English Poetry: Author Search. Chadwyck-Healey Ltd., 1995 (http://www.lib.utexas.edu:8080/search/epoetry/author.html). Stanford University Libraries and Academic Information Resources (http://library.stanford.edu). The Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry. 11th ed. The Columbia Granger's World of Poetry, Columbia University Press, 2005 (http://www.columbiagrangers.org). The Faber Book of Epigrams and Epitaphs. Geoffrey Grigson, ed. Faber & Faber, 1977.