William Cornwallis the Younger
Sir William Cornwallis the Younger was a notable figure in early English literature, recognized as an early pioneer in the essay genre. His works, particularly "Essayes" and "A Second Part of Essayes," published in the early 17th century, are frequently regarded as some of the first essays in English, although the definition of the genre was not yet established at that time. Cornwallis drew inspiration from the French Renaissance writer Michel de Montaigne and infused his essays with a personal, diary-like quality, distinguishing them from those of his contemporary, Francis Bacon.
Despite his contributions to literature, Cornwallis struggled to gain prominence in society and sought to enhance his status at court in hopes of inheriting land from his uncle. Though he served multiple terms in Parliament, he did not achieve the recognition he desired. His personal life included marriage to Katherine Parker, with whom he had eight children, but reports suggest that their family lived in poverty despite Cornwallis's eccentric lifestyle. He passed away in 1614 after an extended illness, leaving a legacy that, while sometimes overlooked, contributed significantly to the development of the essay form in English literature.
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Subject Terms
William Cornwallis the Younger
Writer
- Born: 1579
- Died: July 1, 1614
Biography
Sir William Cornwallis the Younger was an early pioneer in the genre of essay in England, but Cornwallis himself admitted that his work was largely indebted to that of French Renaissance writer Michel de Montaigne. Francis Bacon used the actual term “essaies” before Cornwallis, but the works in which Bacon employed the label were published after Cornwallis had stopped writing—after Cornwallis had already been writing in the form of essay. Though Cornwallis’s subject matter was not often engaging or original, and though he was aware of this, he was still credited with infusing the essay with a personal diary-like aspect, which was lacking in Bacon’s first essays. His Essayes and A Second Part of Essayes, published in the early part of the seventeenth century, are considered by many prominent Enlgish scholars to be the first essays ever written in English. However, such a label is ambiguous since the genre had not been truly defined yet. An often overlooked part of Cornwallis’s repoitoire was his ability to write paradoxes, which were quite popular at the time for their deeply profound logical and philosophical explorations.
Cornwallis spent a great deal of time in the court trying to make a name for himself in vain hopes of inheriting the land belonging to his uncle, Sir William Cornwallis the Elder. Although he was elected to Parliament on more than one occasion, he fell short of establishing himself in the way that he had hoped. In 1595, he married Katherine Parker, and the two of them raised a total of eight children. Since Sir William was known to have lived an eccentric life of excess, he and his family probably lived a meager poverty-stricken existence. He died in 1614 after suffering from a prolonged illness.