Nicholas Breton (also Britton or Brittain ) ( English Nicholas Breton, Britton, Bryton ; 1545 , London - 1626 , London ) - English poet and writer , pamphletist of the Elizabethan era.
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Content
Biography
His father, William Breton, a wealthy London merchant, died in 1559. His widow mother (née Elizabeth Bacon) married poet George Gascoigne before her sons came of age.
The mean details of the biography (poverty, debt prisons, the help of patrons, etc.) sometimes slip among hundreds of pages of his vast heritage. Breton, in his own words, saw the majestic palaces of various monarchs (that is, traveled to Europe). Judging by the sources of his prosaic works, from European languages he knew at least Italian . One of his dialogues - pamphlets is dedicated to the scientist and compiler of the English-Italian dictionary John Florio .
Undoubtedly, the stepfather had a great influence at the beginning of the literary work of the young N. Breton. In the first twenty years of his work, Breton was a follower of the traditions of George Gascoigne .
The patron of the beginning writer for some time was the aristocrat and poetess Mary Sidney , Countess of Pembroke.
N. Breton is the author of Pastoral poetry, religious and pastoral poems, satyrs and a number of different prose treatises.
His poems began to appear regularly in poetry collections (“A Fistful of Fragrant Flowers” (A Smale Handfull of Fragrant Flowers, 1575); “A Pattern of the Imagination” (A Floorish upon Fancie, 1577); “Pilgrimage to Paradise” (The Pilgrimage to Paradise, 1592 ); by the same time, The Passionate Shepheard (publ. 1604) most likely refers to it. N. Breton’s poems also fell into one of the most famous anthologies - “English Helicon” (1600). In 1591, he was already a well-known poet so that one of his names on the cover attracted readers: this year the Briton's Grove of Pleasures was published. ’" (Bryton's Bowre of Delights). Breton liked to put his initials and the abbreviation "Gent." (Gentleman) on the title and regretted that many of his works were not published.
The poet is mentioned in the book “The Art of English Poetry” by J. Putnam as “one of the excellent court authors”, “a gentleman in the service of Her Majesty’s servants,” that is, he tried to live as a patronage , dedicating publications to the nobles of Elizabeth I.
In addition, Breton was included in the list of the best love poets of England, who "most passionately mourn the difficulties of love" and among the five best lyric poets of England ( Spencer , Drayton , Daniel , Shakespeare , Breton ).
In 1600, the Melancholike Humors in Verses of Diverse Nature was published - one of the few publications where the name of N. Breton is fully indicated on the title.
Per Breton owns two chivalrous novels “The History of Don Federigo from the New Earth” (The Historie of ... Don Federigo di Terra Nuova, 1590) and “The Amazing Adventures of Two Beautiful Princes” (Strange Fortunes of Two Excellent Princes; 1600), both were rather total published at the expense of patrons.
Selected Works
- "The Gentle Lullaby" (A Sweet Lullaby, 1600)
- Bryton's Bowre of Delights (1591)
- “The Pastoral of Phyllis and Corydon”,
- The Workes of a Young Wit (1577)
- A Floorish upon Fancie (1577)
- The Pilgrimage to Paradise (1592)
- The Countess of Penbrook's Passion (1853)
- Pasquil's Fooles cappe (1600)
- Pasquil's Mistresse (1600)
- Pasquil's Passe and Passeth Not (1600)
- Marie Magdalen's Love: a Solemne Passion of the Soules Love (1595)
- A Divine Poem (1601)
- An Excellent Poem (1601)
- The Soules Heavenly Exercise (1601)
- The Soules Harmony (1602)
- Olde Madcappe newe Gaily mawfrey (1602)
- The Mother's Blessing (1602)
- A True Description of Unthankfulnesse (1602)
- The Passionate Shepheard (1604)
- The Souies Immortail Crowne (1605)
- The Honor of Valor (1605)
- An Invective against Treason; I would and I would not (1614)
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 BNF identifier : Open Data Platform 2011.
- ↑ 1 2 German National Library , Berlin State Library , Bavarian State Library , etc. Record # 100431720 // General Normative Control (GND) - 2012—2016.
- ↑ 1 2 National Library of Australia - 1960.