Phineas Fletcher
Phineas Fletcher (1582-1650) was an English poet and Anglican minister, recognized as a significant figure in early 17th-century literature. Born in Cranbrook, Kent, he was the elder son of poet Giles Fletcher the Elder and was influenced by the renowned Edmund Spenser. He received his education at Eton and King's College, Cambridge, where he held a fellowship from 1611 to 1615. In 1615, Fletcher married Elizabeth Vincent and fathered two sons and four daughters. His ecclesiastical career included serving as chaplain to Sir Henry Willoughby and later as the rector of Hilgay, Norfolk, where he spent most of his life.
Fletcher is noted for his literary contributions, particularly his 1633 work, "The Purple Island: Or, The Isle of Man," an allegorical poem exploring themes of virtue, vice, and the relationship between body and soul. He also published "Locustæ, vel pietas Jesuitica," a critique of Jesuit practices, and "Brittain's Ida," a poem initially attributed to Spenser. His legacy includes a posthumous collection of works by him and his brother, Giles Fletcher the Younger, showcasing their poetic contributions.
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Phineas Fletcher
Poet
- Born: April 1, 1582
- Birthplace: Cranbrook, Kent, England
- Died: 1650
- Place of death: Hilgay, Norfolk, England
Biography
English poet and Anglican minister Phineas Fletcher was the elder son of Giles Fletcher the Elder, a poet, diplomat, and lawyer, and Joan Sheaf. His younger brother, Giles Fletcher the Younger, was also a poet, and both brothers were strongly influenced by the style of Edmund Spenser.
Fletcher was baptized on April 8, 1582, at Cranbrook, Kent, England; in keeping with the custom of the time, this would perhaps place his birthdate at three days earlier. He was educated at Eton and King’s College, Cambridge, holding a fellowship at the latter from 1611 to 1615. He was married to Elizabeth Vincent on August 23, 1615, and the couple later had two sons and four daughters. In 1615, Fletcher became chaplain to Sir Henry Willoughby; in1621,Willoughby presented Fletcher to the rectory of Hilgay, Norfolk, where he lived for the rest of his life.
Fletcher published an attack upon the Jesuits, Locustæ, vel pietas Jesuitica, in 1627. Brittain’s Ida (1628), a poem long thought to be Spenser’s, seems now to be the work of Fletcher. However, Fletcher’s greatest poetic achievement came in 1633 with the publication of The Purple Island: Or, The Isle of Man, a long allegorical poem dealing with the virtues and vices, the body’s physiology, and the soul, in twelve cantos. The poem includes the Piscatorie Eclogs, and Other Poetical Miscellanies, pastorals in which the main characters are fisherboys on the banks of the river Cam. It is thought that two of the characters, Thyrsil and Thelgon, represent Fletcher and his father, respectively. In 1633, Fletcher also published Elisa, an elegy upon the death of Sir Anthony Irby.
Fletcher was still serving as the rector at Hilgay when he died there in 1650. A collection of the brothers’ writings, The Poetical Works of Giles and Phineas Fletcher, was published in 1908-1909.