Joshua Sylvester
Encyclopedia
Joshua Sylvester was an English
poet
.
ish clothier. In his tenth year he was sent to school at King Edward VI School, Southampton
, where he gained a knowledge of French
. After about three years at school, he appears to have been put to business, and in 1591 the title-page of his Yvry states that he was in the service of the Merchant Adventurers' Company.
He was for a short time a land steward, and in 1606 Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales
gave him a small pension as a kind of court poet. In 1613 he obtained a position as secretary to the Merchant Adventurers. He was stationed at Middelburg
, in the Low Countries, where he died.
s the scriptural epic of Guillaume du Bartas.
His Essay of the Second Week was published in 1598; and in 1604 The Divine Weeks of the World's Birth. The ornate style of the original offered no difficulty to Sylvester, who was himself a disciple of the Euphuists and added many adornments of his own invention. The Sepmaines of Du Bartas appealed most to his English and German co-religionists, and the translation was immensely popular. It has often been suggested that John Milton
owed something in the conception of Paradise Lost
to Sylvester's translation. His popularity ceased with the Restoration
, and John Dryden
called his verse "abominable fustian."
His works were reprinted by A. B. Grosart (1880) in the Chertsey Worthies Library. See also Charles Dunster
, Considerations on Milton's early Reading (1800).
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
.
Biography
Sylvester was the son of a KentKent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
ish clothier. In his tenth year he was sent to school at King Edward VI School, Southampton
King Edward VI School, Southampton
King Edward VI School, often referred to as King Edward's, or simply KES, is a selective co-educational independent day School located in Southampton, United Kingdom and is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. It was founded in 1553, after the death of William Capon , who...
, where he gained a knowledge of French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
. After about three years at school, he appears to have been put to business, and in 1591 the title-page of his Yvry states that he was in the service of the Merchant Adventurers' Company.
He was for a short time a land steward, and in 1606 Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales
Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales
Henry Frederick Stuart, Prince of Wales was the elder son of King James I & VI and Anne of Denmark. His name derives from his grandfathers: Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley and Frederick II of Denmark. Prince Henry was widely seen as a bright and promising heir to his father's throne...
gave him a small pension as a kind of court poet. In 1613 he obtained a position as secretary to the Merchant Adventurers. He was stationed at Middelburg
Middelburg
Middelburg is a municipality and a city in the south-western Netherlands and the capital of the province of Zeeland. It is situated in the Midden-Zeeland region. It has a population of about 48,000.- History of Middelburg :...
, in the Low Countries, where he died.
Works
He translated into English heroic coupletHeroic couplet
A heroic couplet is a traditional form for English poetry, commonly used for epic and narrative poetry; it refers to poems constructed from a sequence of rhyming pairs of iambic pentameter lines. The rhyme is always masculine. Use of the heroic couplet was first pioneered by Geoffrey Chaucer in...
s the scriptural epic of Guillaume du Bartas.
His Essay of the Second Week was published in 1598; and in 1604 The Divine Weeks of the World's Birth. The ornate style of the original offered no difficulty to Sylvester, who was himself a disciple of the Euphuists and added many adornments of his own invention. The Sepmaines of Du Bartas appealed most to his English and German co-religionists, and the translation was immensely popular. It has often been suggested that John Milton
John Milton
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
owed something in the conception of Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. It was originally published in 1667 in ten books, with a total of over ten thousand individual lines of verse...
to Sylvester's translation. His popularity ceased with the Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
, and John Dryden
John Dryden
John Dryden was an influential English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden.Walter Scott called him "Glorious John." He was made Poet...
called his verse "abominable fustian."
His works were reprinted by A. B. Grosart (1880) in the Chertsey Worthies Library. See also Charles Dunster
Charles Dunster
Charles Dunster was a British writer, and translator. -Life:He was the only son of the Rev. Charles Dunster, prebendary of Salisbury.He was admitted at Oriel College, Oxford, as a commoner in 1767, took his B.A...
, Considerations on Milton's early Reading (1800).