Thomas Carew (1595–1639)

English poet Thomas Carew was born in 1594 and was educated at Oxford and became secretary to Sir Dudley Carleton, accompanying him to Italy and the Netherlands. He was dismissed after he insulted Carleton and his wife, which may have earned him a reputation as a rascal. Carew (pronounced "Carey") toon meer is considered one of the best known of the Cavalier poets. Loyal to King Charles I, Carew was greatly influenced by the poet Ben Jonson. His work comprised of witty, short lines, different from the sonnets of the time. In 1630, the king, who very much enjoyed Carew's work, named him Sewer in Ordinary, in charge of the royal dining arrangements. Carew's first published verses were printed as a prelude to Thomas May's The Heir. Notable subsequent work included commentary on society in "A Divine Mistress" and "Disdain Returned," and the longer, erotic work, "A Rapture." His masque, Coleum Britannicum., was presented for the king in 1634. In keeping with his reputation, much of Carew's poetry was considered sexually explicit for its time, but he also translated nine Psalms and crafted the widely praised "An Elegy on the Death of the Dean of St. Paul's Dr. John Donne," which was published with Donne's poems in 1633. Carew died in 1640. (Bowker Author Biography) toon minder