Norris, John

(1657-1711)

   Born Collingbourne-Kingston, Wiltshire, where his father was the rector, he was educated at Winchester College. He graduated M.A. from Exeter College, Oxford, in 1680, was ordained soon afterwards, and from 1692 he was rector of Bemerton, near Salisbury, where he died. He was the last of the "Cambridge Platonists" (see More, Henry) and his views brought him into controversy with other Christians, such as the Quakers. His Essay Towards the Theory of an Ideal and Intelligible World appeared in two parts in 1701 and 1704 and brought him recognition, but little profit. He wrote several learned texts including, in 1707, Christian Blessedness, later entitled Practical Discourses on the Beatitudes, the first of the four volumes. Some of his poetry publications: Poems and Discourses Occasionally Written, 1684. Pastoral Poem on Death of Charles II, 1685. Miscellanies, 1687. Some of his poems: "Hymn to Darkness," "My Estate," "The Aspiration," "The Choice," "The Consummation," "The Discontent," "The Meditation," "The Parting," "The Retirement," "To Melancholy."

   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). The Cavalier Poets. Robin Skelton, ed. Oxford University Press, 1970. 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 London Book of English Verse. Herbert Read and Barbara Dobree, eds. MacMillan, 1952. The Oxford Book of Christian Verse. Lord David Cecil, ed. Oxford University Press, 1940. The Oxford Companion to English Literature. 6th edition. Margaret Drabble, ed. Oxford University Press, 2000.