Samuel Rowlands
Samuel Rowlands, born in England in 1573, was a prominent pamphleteer known for his satirical and devotional writings during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Living primarily in London, he had close ties with the middle and lower classes and expressed a disdain for high-class literature, which he often satirized. Rowlands's prolific output included various forms of popular literature, with pamphlet writing being his most significant contribution. His works, such as 'Tis Merrie When Gossips Meete and The Letting of Humours Blood in the Head-Vaine, humorously depict the eccentricities and social behaviors of Londoners, often drawing inspiration from earlier literary figures like Geoffrey Chaucer.
Rowlands's writing style is characterized by the use of epigrams and six-line stanzas, and he frequently tackled both secular and religious themes. His early works included religious poetry, showcasing his ability to create polished verse. Despite facing censorship and fines for his provocative content, Rowlands maintained a notable presence in the literary scene, influencing the evolution of popular literature in England. His legacy offers insight into the social dynamics of his time, reflecting the lives and follies of the lower middle-class society in London. Samuel Rowlands passed away in 1630, leaving a diverse body of work that continues to be studied for its cultural significance.
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Samuel Rowlands
Writer
- Born: 1573
- Birthplace: England
- Died: 1630
Biography
Samuel Rowlands was born in England in 1573 and is best known for writing pamphlets in both prose and verse. Rowlands spent the duration of his life in London, and it has been conjectured that from 1600 to 1615, he worked for William White and George Loftus—booksellers who published Rowlands’s pamphlets. It is unlikely that Rowlands attended any university, and it is thought that he kept an intimate contact with the middle and lower classes of London society. His writings suggest that he had a particular distaste for high-class literature, such as stories of courtly love and elaborate dramas, but he was familiar enough with both to satirize them.
In order to make a living, Rowlands attempted every type of popular literature except essays and character sketches, but his most prolific genre was pamphlet writing. Most of his works are satiric descriptions of lower-class London life, but he also devoted his efforts to more pious topics. Like other authors before him who had attracted attention with their religious compositions, Rowlands began his career by writing on sacred subjects. In 1598, he published The Betraying of Christ. Judas in Despaire. The Seven Words of Our Savior on the Cross. With Other Poems on the Passion. In this work, Rowlands succeeds in creating a full-developed and polished flow of verse, which is one of his primary contributions to the literature of his age. In 1605, he published A Theater of Delightfull Recreation, a poetry collection founded on the Old Testament.
Among the primary influences of Rowlands’s literature were the works of such contemporary pamphleteers as Robert Greene, Stephen Gossen, and Joseph Hall. Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales also appears to have been a strong inspiration for Rowlands. His 1602 work ’Tis Merrie When Gossips Meete, which describes three women in a tavern drinking and exchanging stories, is clearly reflective of Chaucer’s pilgrims at the beginning of their journey.
Another of his contributions to the literary world was his witty portrayal of the “humours” of eccentricity and class spirit. This is found in his The Letting of Humours Blood in the Head-Vaine. Rowlands exposes the bad manners of Londoners through classical epigrams, which give admirable glimpses of conduct, and in satire, which allows for more derisive and detailed portraits. Rowlands favored the epigram and six-line stanza, but he also published works in other forms, such as The Melancholie Knight, which was a dramatic monologue.
The most famous of Rowlands’s works were ’Tis Merrie When Gossips Meete and the aforementioned The Letting of Humours Blood in the Head-Vaine. Heavily satirical in nature and humorously featuring crude behaviors, these works apparently struck a nerve with the authorities of the day. Twenty-nine booksellers were fined for buying copies of the manuscripts, and the originals were confiscated and burned publicly.
The last of Rowlands’s humorous studies, before his death in 1630, was Good Newes and Bad Newes, which appeared in 1622. In 1628, he also wrote a pious volume of prose and verse, titled Heaven’s Glory, Seeke It. Earts Vanitie, Flye It. Hells Horror, Fere It. Published by Michael Sparke, a popular religious writer and printer, Heaven’s Glory has been the subject of some scholarly debate. Since some of its content reportedly appears in Sparke’s Crumms of Comfort, published in 1627, this suggests that Rowlands may not have been the original author. However, many critics claim that its epigram structure and satiric style is distinctive of Rowlands’s writing.
During the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, Rowlands succeeded in becoming an established English pamphleteer in prose and verse. His writings cleverly reflect the follies and humors of the lower middle-class segment of English society. Rowlands’s satirical and devotional works exemplify the development of popular literature in England and throw light on the social London of his day.