Carew, Thomas

Related Category: English Literature, 1500 to 1799: Biographies

1595?–1639?, English author, one of the Cavalier poets. Educated at Merton College, Oxford, he had a short diplomatic career on the Continent, then returned to England and became a favorite of Charles I and a court official. He is best known for his courtly, amorous lyrics, such as “Ask me no more where Jove bestows” and “He that loves a rosy cheek,” but of equal importance are his “Elegy on the Death of Dr. Donne,” and the highly erotic poem, “A Rapture.” In his use of metaphysical and classical material, he shows the influence of both John Donne and Ben Jonson.

See ed. of his works by R. Dunlap (1949); study by E. I. Selig (1958, repr. 1970).