Gower, John

Gower, John
(?1325-1408)
   The facts of this medieval poet's life are derived mainly from his poetry. He is thought to have owned land in Kent and in Yorkshire. He was blind from around 1400. He lived the latter part of his life as a layman in the priory of St. Mary Overie, Southwark, London, where he died, apparently. Some of Gower's stories are mirrored in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. His two main French works are Cinkante Balades, written before 1374, and Speculum Meditantis, circa 1376-1368, in which he speaks of vices and virtues. His major Latin poem, Vox clamantis, in seven books, deals with the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, kingship, the state of England, and the need for spiritual and political reform. His two main English works are In Praise of Peace, in which he pleads urgently King Henry IV to avoid the horrors of war, and Confessio amantis, published in the 1390s, a collection in eight books of exemplary tales of love. Some of his other poems: "An Address to the King," "Concerning the Philosophers Stone," "This World Fares as a Fantasy."
   Sources: 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 Verse, 1300-1500: Longman Annotated Anthologies of English Verse. Vol. I. John Burrow, ed. Longman, 1977. Morality Plays, Interludes, and the Emergence of Mature Drama (http://www.beyondbooks.com/leu11/2h.asp). 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 English History in Verse. Kenneth Baker, ed. Faber and Faber, 1988. The John Gower Page (http://faculty.arts.ubc.ca/sechard/gower.htm). The National Portrait Gallery (www.npg.org.uk). The Oxford Companion to English Literature. 6th edition. Margaret Drabble, ed. Oxford University Press, 2000.

British and Irish poets. A biographical dictionary. . 2015.

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  • Gower, John — • Poet; born between 1327 1330, probably in Kent; died October, 1408 Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Gower, John     John Gower …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Gower, John — (ca. 1330–1408)    John Gower was a friend and contemporary of fellow poet Geoffrey CHAUCER. He enjoyed a literary reputation second only to Chaucer’s in his own lifetime and throughout the 15th century, and Shakespeare himself borrowed the plot… …   Encyclopedia of medieval literature

  • Gower, John — born 1330? died 1408, London? English poet. His works, in the tradition of courtly love and moral allegory, strongly influenced other poets of his day. His friend Geoffrey Chaucer called him moral Gower. His Speculum meditantis (с 1374–78),… …   Universalium

  • Gower, John — (1325? 1408)    Poet. Although few details of his life have come down to us, he appears to have been a man of wealth and importance, connected with Kent, well known at Court, and in possession of more than one estate. He was the friend of Chaucer …   Short biographical dictionary of English literature

  • Gower,John — Gow·er (gouʹər, gôrʹ, gōrʹ), John. 1325? 1408. English poet who wrote allegorical, didactic works, such as Vox Clamantis (1382? 1384), in Latin, French, and English. * * * …   Universalium

  • Gower, John — ► (1325? 1408) Poeta inglés. Escribió en francés Espejo del hombre y en inglés Confesión de un amante …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • GOWER, JOHN —    an English poet, contemporary and friend of Chaucer, but of an older school; was the author of three works: Speculum Meditantis, the Thinker s Mirror, written in French, lost for long, but recovered lately; Vox Clamantis, the Voice of One… …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • Gower — Gower, John …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • John Leveson-Gower, 1. Earl Gower — PC (* 10. August 1694; † 25. Dezember 1754) war ein britischer Politiker der Tories, sowie der erste Tory, der im 18. Jahrhundert in die Regierung gelangte. Dort war er Lordsiegelbewahrer[1]. Er war …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • John Gower —     John Gower     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► John Gower     Poet; born between 1327 1330, probably in Kent; died October, 1408. He was of gentle blood and well connected. He may have been a merchant in London, but this cannot be authoritatively… …   Catholic encyclopedia

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