Barnabe Barnes
Barnabe Barnes was an English poet and playwright born in March 1571, the third son of Richard Barnes, the Bishop of Durham. He attended Brasenose College at Oxford but did not graduate, likely due to the death of his father in 1587, after which he lived on an inheritance. His brief military stint with the Earl of Essex in 1591 was followed by a shift towards literary pursuits and courtly life, where he gained a reputation for his flamboyant style. Barnes was a prolific writer, known for his poetry, including the notable "Parthenophil and Parthenophe," which featured innovative verse forms. His works often explored themes of love and black magic, reflecting the complexities of court intrigues in which he was deeply involved. Notably, he faced legal troubles, including a serious accusation of attempted murder that led to his escape from prison. Among his literary contributions, his play "The Divil's Charter" stands out, presenting an intriguing narrative about Pope Alexander VI and his pact with the devil, resonating with the political and cultural sentiments of his time. Barnes passed away in December 1609, shortly after the publication of his works.
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Barnabe Barnes
Poet
- Born: c. 1571
- Birthplace: Yorkshire, England
- Died: December 1, 1609
- Place of death: Probably Saint Mary-le-Bow, England
Biography
Barnabe Barnes was baptized at St. Michael le Belfry, York, England, in March, 1571; he was the third son of Richard Barnes, Bishop of Durham. He went to Brasenose College, Oxford, in 1586, but did not complete his degree. His father died in 1587, and Barnes appears to have lived thereafter on his portion of a reasonably opulent inheritance. In 1591, he joined the Earl of Essex’s expedition to Normandy, but returned after two months when Essex’s commission was not renewed. He abandoned his military career thereafter, although he probably extended his travels in Europe, perhaps visiting Italy. He certainly became interested in Italianate fashion, and obtained a considerable reputation as a fop when he returned to England and became a familiar figure at court.
Barnes was apparently a prolific writer of verse, although much of his work was presumably lost. He was an effusive panegyrist of the Earl of Southampton; William Shakespeare apparently considered him to be his chief rival for Southampton’s patronage, if not for future literary glory. Barnes was deeply embroiled in the intrigues of the court, becoming closely involved with the ill-tempered poet Gabriel Harvey. Harvey’s attacks on the playwrights Thoomas Nashe and Robert Greene invited such violent reprisals that the Archbishop of Canterbury had to intervene. Barnes’s involvement in the feud may have been responsible for his being accused in the Star Chamber in 1598 of attempting to kill John Browne with poisoned lemonade and wine, although he may have been contracted to carry out the murder by Lord Eeur. Either the charge was not taken seriously or he had powerful advocates, because he escaped from the Marshalsea Prison and was not rearrested thereafter, although he seems to have remained witin easy reach.
Four books by Barnes were printed, the first and most highly reputed being Parthenophil and Parthenophe: Sonnettes, Madrigals, Elegies, and Odes, which includes numerous experiments with Italianate verse forms. “Parthenophil” is an interesting example of an “echo sonnet,” each line being supplemented by a rhyming echo of one or two syllables. The book was followed two years later by A Divine Centurie of Spirituall Sonnets, whose contents are equally inventive. Barnes’s poetry offers a mildly cynical commentary the vagaries of love—a conventional strategy at the time—but also manifests an interest in black magic. Although similarly fashionable, this might have assisted his enemies in bringing the charge of poisoning against him, if it was in fact false. Foure Bookes of Offices is a prose work taking the much safer form of a commentary on the four cardinal virtues.
Barnes’s only surviving drama, The Divil’s Charter is perhaps his most interesting work from a modern viewpoint. Although it is a blatant imitation of Christopher Marlowe’s Tragical History of Dr. Faustus, its account of the Borgia pope, Alexander VI, making a pact with the devil has an appealing zest. Its anti-Romanist satire presumably pleased James I (who had succeeded to the throne in 1603) as much as its subject-matter; James was already famous by then for his intervention in the trial of the Berwick witches and for his own Demonolatrie. Barnes died not long after its appearance in print, in December, 1609.