Nicholas Breton
Nicholas Breton was an English poet and lyricist active during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He is noted for his connections to prominent literary figures of the time, including Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare, Sir Philip Sidney, and Edmund Spenser, reflecting his involvement in the rich literary culture of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. Although much of his biography remains obscure due to the lack of contemporary accounts, legal records provide some insights into his life, including his education at Oxford, his marriage, and the birth of two children.
Breton was recognized for his satirical works, which faced criticism for being less sophisticated than those of his peers, yet he is celebrated for his contributions to pastoral poetry and lyrics. His dedication to Sidney's sister, the Countess of Pembroke, is often discussed in relation to his finest poems, although no concrete evidence of a personal relationship has been established. His literary output was prolific, comprising over fifty published works, with his influence acknowledged in collections such as The Oxford Book of Sixteenth Century Verse. Breton's legacy is that of a gifted lyricist whose works, while sometimes overlooked, stand alongside the notable contributions of his contemporaries.
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Subject Terms
Nicholas Breton
English poet
- Born: c. 1545
- Birthplace: London(?), England
- Died: c. 1626
- Place of death: London, England
Biography
Like Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare, two lyricists whom he resembles, Nicholas Breton (BREHT-uhn) had no contemporary biographers. Among his friends and acquaintances, however, he counted, in addition to the two mentioned, Sir Philip Sidney, Edmund Spenser, John Suckling, Thomas Nashe, Ben Jonson, Francis Beaumont, and John Fletcher. Evidence for this and other facts of his life comes from registration of works, prefaces, and dedications and epitaphs. Legal records indicate such facts as his father’s death, his inheritance, his education at Oxford, his marriage, and the birth of two children, but not much more. His devotion to Philip Sidney has led to speculation regarding his relations with Sidney’s sister, the countess of Pembroke, for whom he wrote his finest poems, but no evidence suggesting a liaison has been discovered.
The date and place of Breton’s birth are conjectural, based on the date of his father’s death and the inheritance of a house in Essex. His stepfather was the noted Elizabethan poet George Crascoigne. Breton’s death date and place are more nearly proved: 1626 is the date of his last published work, and London is where he had been active for many years and published more than fifty books.
Breton’s satiric works were often ridiculed and seem heavy-handed and sophomoric in comparison with others of the “tribe of Ben” Jonson, though Jonson himself wrote the preface to Breton’s poems on melancholy. No one disputes his rightful place among the writers of idylls and lyrics, for Breton studied with Spenser and Sidney, and the inclusion of his pastorals in such a work as The Oxford Book of Sixteenth Century Verse shows them to be not inferior to those of his better-known contemporaries.
Bibliography
Atkinson, Colin B., and Jo B. Atkinson. “Four Prayer Books Addressed to Women During the Reign of Elizabeth I.” The Huntington Library Quarterly 60, no. 4 (1999): 407-423. Discusses the changes in the place of women in religious thought and practice throughout the sixteenth century. Examines A Table for Gentlewomen, A Handfull of Holesome Hearbes, Breton’s Auspicante Jehova, and The Monument of Matrones.
Bullen, Arthur Henry. Elizabethans. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1924. Bullen sketches the life and work of ten English authors of the Elizabethan period. He repeats the sketchy details known about Breton’s life, then shows how the prolific author fits into his historical context. Interesting reading for all students.
Garnett, Richard, and Edmund Grosse. English Literature: An Illustrated Record. 2d ed. 2 vols. New York: Macmillan, 1935. Garnett and Grosse include a substantial essay on Breton and place him in context of the English literary history. This is an older study but a valuable one. Suitable for all levels.
Kunitz, Stanley, and Howard Haycraft, eds. British Authors Before 1800: A Biographical Dictionary. New York: Wilson, 1952. Provides a short biographical entry that seems to be based on the information provided in Sir Sidney Lee’s article. Points out that Breton’s literary influences come from the medieval period and not from his English Renaissance contemporaries. Breton was thought to have been a little too prolific. His only work of any distinction is his pastoral poems.
Lee, Sidney. “Nicholas Breton.” In The Dictionary of National Biography, edited by Leslie Stephen and Lee. Vol. 2. Reprint. London: Oxford University Press, 1921-1922. This essay is the most interesting and detailed article about the life of Breton. Lee describes why Breton’s birth and death dates are in doubt and insinuates that the poet had an affair with his patroness, Mary Sidney, the countess of Pembroke. Provides a detailed primary biography along with the whereabouts of Breton’s few remaining first editions.
Tannenbaum, Samuel Aaron, and Dorothy R. Tannenbaum. Nicholas Breton: A Concise Bibliography. New York: S. A. Tannenbaum, 1947. Breton has been almost completely ignored by scholars over the last three centuries. The Tannenbaums have published one of the only sources of any kind available on this Elizabethan poet. It is immensely valuable for the serious Breton student.