Gascoigne, George

(?1525-1577)

   The dates of his birth and death are uncertain; those given here are from the DNB. He came from a Bedfordshire family and was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, but left without a degree. He became a lawyer at Gray's Inn in 1555 and spent some time in debtors' prison in 1570. He fought in the army in the Netherlands from 1572 to 1574 and was repatriated as a prisoner of war. In his time as court poet he wrote the play Supposes, presented before Queen Elizabeth at Kenilworth castle in 1575. His Jocasta (performed in 1566) was the first Greek tragedy to be presented on the English stage. His Complete Works appeared in two volumes in Cambridge English Classics, 1907-1908, edited by Prof. J.W. Cunliffe. He died at Bernack, near Stamford, Lincolnshire. Some of his other publications: A Hundreth Sundrie Flowres, 1573. The Posies of George Gascoigne, 1575. The Steele Glas 1576 (a satire). Some of his poems: "A Sonet Written in Prayse of the Browne Beautie," "De Profundis," "The Greene Knights Farewell to Fansie," "This Vaine Availe Which Thou By Mars Hast Woonne."

   Sources: Chapters into Verse. Vol. I: Genesis to Malachi. Robert Atwan and Laurance Wieder, eds. Oxford University Press. 1993. Dictionary of National Biography. Electronic Edition 1.1. Oxford University Press, 1997. Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite DVD, 2006. English Poetry: Author Search. Chadwyck-Healey Ltd., 1995 (http://www.lib.utexas.edu:8080/search/epoetry/author.html). English Renaissance Poetry: A Collection of Shorter Poems from Skelton to Jonson. John Williams, ed. University of Arkansas, 1990. Life and Work of George Gascoigne (http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/gascoigne.htm). 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 Oxford Book of War Poetry. Jon Stallworthy, Oxford University Press, 1984. The Oxford Companion to English Literature. 6th edition. Margaret Drabble, ed. Oxford University Press, 2000.